


A New Perspective (Currently taking a long nap, to be revived at a later date)

by SwimFreak31



Category: 100 - Fandom, The 100 (TV)
Genre: Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:02:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 33,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27246220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwimFreak31/pseuds/SwimFreak31
Summary: The 100, but with an original character of my creation. Marcus Kane has a daughter, a sweet girl named Elanor who wants to be a doctor and save the world. Same main plotline, except Elanor is there and thriving.





	1. Prologue

Elanor Kane’s first vivid memory was a game of chess between Wells Jaha and Clarke Griffin. She could not have been older than 4, as Clarke and Wells were just learning to play. Her father was at work, some sort of emergency that a four year old would not understand, and she was under the care of Thelonius Jaha and Jake Griffin, who she called Uncle Theo and Uncle Jake respectively. She knew there were no real aunts or uncles on the Ark, as there were no siblings allowed. A rule she did not even remember learning. There were things like that on the Ark, rules that nobody remembered learning that went unquestioned. Questioning them meant trouble. Breaking them meant death.

Elanor Kane knew she would never break the rules of the Ark. 

The hum of the TV was accompanied by the giggles of Clarke and Wells and the shouts of Uncle Theo and Uncle Jake as they cheered on a soccer game. It was not like it would make a difference. The game had ended at least a hundred years ago.

Young Eleanor was a curious girl, always wanting to learn more. Most of the time her will to learn was obliged by patient adults. Seeing seven year old Clarke and Wells play a game she did not know triggered her natural curiosity. 

“Can you teach me to play?”

Wells sighed. “No, you’re too young, Nellie. You won’t understand”

“Can I watch?”

“No, Nellie.” Wells turned to her. 

“Why not?”

“You won’t understand the game, Elanor,” Clarke said, “and anyway, you’re just going to ask way too many questions and end up ruining the game for us. Just leave us alone”

Elanor padded off, joining the adults. She plopped down on the floor in front of her Uncle Theo and tried to focus on the soccer game.

“Elanor, I thought you were playing with Wells and Clarke” Jake Griffin commented.

“I was. But they’re playing a game that I can’t play” Elanor responded.

Thelonius Jaha sat up straighter in his chair. “What do you mean by that?”

“I’m too young. I wouldn’t understand it. And I ask too many questions”

Jaha chuckled. “Asking questions isn’t a bad thing Elanor. But sometimes, there are situations where people are busy, or don’t want to answer your questions unless they are super important. Clarke and Wells are busy. I don’t think they’re trying to be mean, Elanor”

“One day, will you teach me how to play, Uncle Theo?” Elanor asked.

“Of course, Elanor”

As Thelonius Jaha turned back to the soccer game, the door swung open and all of the inhabitants turned to look.

“Dad!” Elanor jumped to her feet, dashing towards her father.

“Thelonius…” Marcus Kane ignored his daughter. His walk was staggering and unstable and there were small accents of blood marking his hands and forearms. “Thelonius, I’m so sorry”

“What do you mean?” Thelonius said, approaching his friend. 

“There was a riot in factory station. Your wife somehow got mixed up in it. I ordered the Guard to break up the riot. In the chaos, someone reached for my gun. In the struggle, it went off. We have the man in custody. I’m so sorry” Marcus said, resting his hand on his friend’s shoulder. 

“Take me to her”

“Thelonius…”

“I said, take me to her!”

“I can’t.” Marcus’s voice trembled. “She was dead before a doctor got there”

Wells Jaha, who had been watching the whole thing from across the room finally spoke up.

“My mom is dead?”

Marcus turned to him. “I’m so sorry, Wells”

Thelonius’s body began to tremble. His grief turned into rage, directed at the man who had killed his wife.

“You did this”

Marcus took a step backwards. “I didn’t mean…”

“You killed her!” Thelonius took a step towards the other man.

“Thelonius, not in front of the kids” Jake Griffin pleaded from the other side of the room. Thelonius paid no attention to him. 

“You killed my wife!”

“Thelonius, I’m so sorry. If I could go back and…” Marcus began. 

But before he could finish, Thelonious slammed him into the wall. With a scream, the grieving man began punching and kicking the man in front of him. Marcus didn’t even try to defend himself. The room was filled with sound. The hum of the soccer game on the TV. Wells’s sobs. Clarke’s desperate attempts to comfort him. Thelonius’s screams of anguish as he punched. Marcus’s grunts in pain. Elanor’s desperate screams of “Stop hurting him!”. Jake’s attempts to soothe Thelonius enough to pull him off of Marcus. 

The cacophony didn’t die down until Jake succeeded in pulling Thelonius off Marcus. For a few moments, the only noises in the room were the soccer game and the pants of the adults, along with Wells’s soft sobs. 

“Thelonius, not in front of the kids.” Jake said, turning to Thelonius, who nodded and turned around, stumbling to the couch where he fell apart, collapsing into tears. Jake pulled the other man to his feet. “You should take Elanor and go. I’ll take care of Thelonius”

Marcus nodded. He grabbed his daughter’s hand and hobbled down the hall. 

Before he could get too far, he turned around. 

“Jake, I never wanted to hurt anyone. I joined the guard to keep people safe”

“I know, Marcus. Thelonius will forgive you. It will just take time” Jake said. Marcus sent the other man a smile and turned to hobble off.

“Wait.” Jake stopped him. “You should get checked out by Abby”

“She has enough on her hands right now. I don’t want to bother her”

Jake sighed. “I know you think you deserve this pain, but you don’t”

“Jake…” Marcus said.

“Just promise me you’ll get checked out. If not for my sake, then for your daughter” Jake said.

Marcus hesitated. He looked down at his four year old daughter, who’s eyes were still puffy and red from tears. Looking back at his friend, he nodded, then hobbled back off to his quarters.

———————————

It took Thelonius Jaha three years to forgive Marcus Kane. He had just been elected chancellor, which gave him access to the security footage from the Ark. On one of his first, late, sleepless nights he found himself searching up the footage from the hallways cameras at the time of his wife’s death.

After watching the footage, he found himself knocking on Marcus Kane’s door. He wasn’t sure quite how he had gotten there. He heard footsteps, then the door swung open.

“Sir? Is there anything I can do for you?” Marcus asked.

“Can I come in?” Thelonius responded. Marcus responded with a nod. The two men made their way to the seating area.

“Is there anything in particular I can do for you, sir? Would you like a drink?” Thelonius shook his head. His hands were trembling as he looked at his former friend. He couldn’t bring himself to say the hardest thing first.

“Sir, are you alright?” Marcus said.

“How’s Elanor?” Thelonius asked abruptly. 

Marcus looked taken aback by the question. It wasn’t at all what he had expected to come out of the man in front of him. He stuttered for a second, then answered. 

“She’s good. I just got her to sleep. If I had known you were coming by I would have kept her up a little later. She wants to say congratulations, but she’s a little shy with people right now” Marcus said.

Thelonius smiled. “Tell me more”

“Well, you were right to say she was going to be a smart kid. She’s top of her class right now. Her teachers come to me with comments of how my daughter is one of the brightest people they’ve ever met. Whenever I approach her about it, she plays it off. She wants to be a doctor, so all she ever tells me when I bring it up is ‘I have to be smart if I want to be a good doctor’. But the thing is, she’s shy. She doesn’t talk to people. She keeps to herself mostly and she doesn’t have any friends. She also started going by Nellie recently. It was a nickname that my mother gave her when she was little. She used to hate it, but I think she actually is starting to like it. Oh, and my mother tried to get her to be the keeper of the tree. But that failed pretty badly. She has the world's shortest attention span”

Marcus stopped, looking at Thelonius’s smile. It looked pained, as though it was trying to hide something. 

“But that’s not why you’re here, is it sir?”

Thelonius shook his head. He had been thinking about this moment since he had watched the security tape. 

“I came to apologize”

“Sir?”

“I watched the footage of the day my wife died”

“Sir, I…”

“I watched you. I watched you order that no one was to draw their weapons unless fired upon. I watched you pulling those kids away from the violence. I watched that man pull the gun from your holster as you bent down to help the old man who had gotten trampled. I saw the man with the gun point it at you, then the struggle, then the gun going off”

“Sir, listen…”

“No. Let me finish” Thelonius put a hand on Marcus’s. “I saw the look in your eyes as my wife fell to the floor. I saw you at her side, screaming for help, doing everything you could to help. I saw…”

“You don’t need to keep going Thelonius” Marcus interjected.

“I saw the way you comforted her. I watched you sit with her, holding her hand until her chest stopped rising. The amount of pain it caused you”

“Why are you making us relive this Thelonius?”

“I wanted to apologize. This whole time, I blamed you for her death when all you did was your job. I didn’t think, I didn’t realize that it had hurt you as much as it has hurt me. Please, Marcus, forgive me” 

“Thelonius” Marcus paused for a second, struggling for the right words to say. “I forgave you a long time ago”

With that, the chancellor stood up. “I should go”

“Of course, sir. Get some real sleep” Marcus said.

Thelonius nodded. As her reached the door, he heard Marcus’s voice ask him a question he didn’t have the answer for.

“Will things ever go back to the way they were before?”

Thelonius turned around and smiled.

“Only time will tell”


	2. One

The shrill sound of the bell was something the class craved as they sat through yet another earth skills class. There was no clock on the wall in the earth skills classroom, so there was no way to tell how long was left. 14 year old Elanor sat tucked towards the middle of the class, one of the few students still conscious, much less paying attention. At the front of the class, Mr. Pike droned on, well aware of the lack of participation. As time passed, the energy in the room began to deflate more and more, until Mr. Pike gave up, receding to his desk and staring at the uninterested group of 13, 14, and 15 year olds sitting in front of him.

As the bell rang, the class sprung to life. Most of the students managed to escape the crowded classroom before Mr. Pike could be heard again.

“There will be a quiz on this tomorrow. And the first round of apprenticeships have been announced. I have apprenticeship announcements for Orla Mccoy, Randy Dudley, Elanor Kane, Georgina Ortega, Frank Lam, and Diego Hansen. If you’re still here, please come get it from me. The rest of you, I will see you tomorrow” 

Elanor, still a fairly shy girl, waited until all the other remaining students had collected theirs to approach Mr. Pike. 

“Sir, you said you have my apprenticeship announcement”

“I do, Elanor. And I’d like to thank you for staying awake through my lesson” Mr. Pike said, handing her the paper. “I wish I could make it less boring for you all”

“I don’t think its you, sir. I think its the fact that you’re teaching earth survival methods to a whole bunch of kids who are going to be trapped in a giant metal box floating their whole lives” Elanor smiled. “And my dad would float me if I ever fall asleep in any of my classes”

“I suppose so” Mr. Pike chuckled. Elanor glanced down at the paper in her hands. “What does it say?”

“I haven't read it yet” Elanor said. “I guess I’m afraid that I’m not going to get the position that I want”

“But what if you do?” Mr. Pike challenged. Elanor looked at him before opening the paper.

“So?”

“Medical! With Doctor Griffin as my mentor!” Elanor giggled.

“Congratulations Elanor” Mr. Pike said. “Your dad is going to love that” 

“Yeah. Well, he’s going to have to get over it”

“You should go tell him” Mr. Pike said with a smile. 

Elanor nodded, then dashed out of the room. The whole walk home, her hands shook. When she got to the door, she could hear adults arguing. She stood by the door, waiting for the arguing to stop. She had heard this enough times, after a heated council meeting, another council member would stop by and, quite often, especially when Doctor Abby Griffin disagreed with her father, a heated argument would erupt. It was common to find Elanor sitting outside of her quarters during one of these heated arguments. 

The voices suddenly went silent and the door swung open. Somebody who Elanor vaguely knew, a friend of Abby Griffin, rushed out with a huff. Elanor gave her a second before entering her quarters.

“Hey, Dad. I’m home” Elanor announced.

Her father sighed and spun around, smiling at his daughter. “ Hi, kiddo. How was earth skills?”

“Okay. Some of us got our apprenticeships today”

“And...?”

“I got the medical apprenticeship! And it’s with Doctor Griffin as my mentor” Elanor saw her father’s shoulders slump. “Look, dad, I know you have issues with Dr. Griffin, but…”

“It’s not that, Nellie”

“Dad, what happened?”

Marcus sighed, having hoped he could avoid the conversation he was about to have for as long as possible.

“Elanor, Dr.Griffin broke the law today. The chancellor was shot. Abby- Dr. Griffin- exceeded the amount of a rationed medicine allowed on one patient”

“But it was the chancellor!” Elanor begged. 

“There are no exceptions to the rules. You know that” 

“Please, do something. You’re chancellor for now. Give her a pardon! Please!” 

“Elanor, enough!” Marcus rarely raised his voice at his daughter, but he couldn’t take much more of her begging. “You know the rules. You know there are no exceptions to the rules. Your mentor is going to be Dr. Jackson”

“Just this once, dad. For me”

“Elanor, that’s the end of this discussion,” Marcus said. “I have to go. I love you, Nellie”

“I love you too, dad”

Elanor waited until the door had been shut long enough for her father to get down the hallway before dashing out the door and down to medical. She was stopped a doctor before she could get all the way into the medical center.

“Kid, you have to wait your turn.” The doctor said.

“I need to see Dr. Jackson” Elanor insisted.

“Look kid, if your mom or dad or friend is sick, you need to wait in line with everyone else,” the doctor sighed.

“Please. Can you at least tell him that Elanor Kane is here?” 

“Sure, kid. What’s this about?”

“Doctor Abby Griffin. Look, just tell Dr. Jackson that Elanor is here and wants to talk to him about Abby, okay?”

The doctor walked off, sighing under his breath about how kids were so impatient. He came back a minute later alone.

“Dr. Jackson just left. But you can wait inside until he gets back”

Elanor walked over to Dr. Jackson’s workstation and sat down. As she glanced around, her eyes fell on someone familiar nearby.

“Chancellor Jaha?”

“Elanor?” Jaha sat up a little and looked around. “Where’s Dr. Griffin?”

“She’s on trial. For using more medicine than rationed on saving you”

“Dr. Jackson just said he was asked to attend a floating of an old friend. Is it possible ...”

“We have to stop it” Elanor came over to Chancellor Jaha and propped him up. “Do you think you can walk? I have a plan, but it's only going to work if we can get to the airlock before they float Dr. Griffin”

The walk to the airlock was tense and pained. The chancellor walked as fast as he could, putting most of his weight on Elanor, who did the best she could. By the they got to the airlock, Dr. Griffin was already inside. 

“Stop” Chancellor Jaha commanded. Marcus turned to the chancellor, his face blank of emotions. 

“Let her go,” the chancellor commanded. He approached the airlock as the doors hissed open, turning to Marcus. “I’ll deal with you later”

Abby stepped out of the airlock and turned to the chancellor. “I spent 12 hours stiching you back together. Get him back to bed!”

Abby brushed past him and grabbed Elanor’s hand. Elanor noticed that her hands shook slightly as their hands interlocked. Dr. Giffin pulled her away from the airlock and all the way down to earth monitoring. Once inside the empty room, when the doors had shut, Abby let out a shaky sigh and wrapped Elanor in a tight hug.

“Dr. Griffin, I’m glad you’re okay” Elanor said, leaning into the tight hug.

“Abby”

“What?”

“Call me Abby. You’re a big girl now, Nellie” Abby leaned away from Elanor. 

“Abby, I…”

“You need to listen to me, Elanor. What you did today was the right thing to do. You know that, I know that, the chancellor knows it. Even your father, on some level, knows it was right. But now is not the time to be acting out against him.” Abby looked Elanor in the eyes. “You need to promise me that you won’t act out against him again”

“I promise. But why…?”

“I can’t tell you right now. All I can say is that things may go bad at any point in time right now, and if they do, things will go south quickly. I can’t let you get involved in this, Elanor”

“Of course, Abby”


	3. Two

It was almost two weeks later when Elanor had the opportunity to speak to her dad again. Between their busy schedules and the fact that it appeared to Elanor that her father was avoiding her, they had barely seen each other, much less had the time or energy when they did see each other. 

The conversation happened on one of their rare coinciding days off. Elanor had been cleared of schoolwork and of her apprenticeship for that day and her father, who was always on call and never really had a full day off, was sitting across from his daughter, playing chess. 

“How has your apprenticeship with Dr. Griffin been going?”

“It's been interesting. I've been shadowing both Dr. Griffin and Dr. Jackson, since they’ve both been really busy. There’s been a lot of little kids showing signs of oxygen deprivation. It’s really worrying to me. The air has never been this bad for this long before”

“Are you learning a lot?”

“Yeah, I’ve learned some really…..”

“Do you know what Dr. Griffin has been doing in Mecha station recently?”

Elanor paused and looked up at her father. “Are you using me to spy on Abby?”

“Elanor, there are things going on that you don’t understand. Now tell me, what has Abby been doing in Mecha station?”

“I don’t know”

“Has she talked about anyone by the name of Raven Reyes, or anything about a strep outbreak on Mecha?”

“There's no strep outbreak on Mecha that I know of”

Marcus stood up. “I have to go”

“Wait,” Elanor grabbed her father’s arm. “I’m not going to allow you to use my mentorship as a way to spy on Abby. If you need information on Abby from now on, you get it from someone else. Not me”

Marcus turned to his daughter. “We’re going to continue this conversation when I get back”

\---------------------

Hours passed before Marcus Kane returned to his daughter, who was curled up, asleep on the couch in the middle of his quarters. His mother, Vera, sat next to his daughter, gently stroking her head.

“Hey” Marcus said softly. “How is she?”

Vera looked up from her granddaughter. “When I got back home, she was a bit of an anxious mess. She wouldn't tell me what was bothering her, but whatever it was meant a lot to her”

Marcus nodded, rounding the couch and shaking his daughter awake. Vera left the room without a word, sensing that the father and daughter pair would need some time to talk.

“Dad?”

“Its me, Nellie”

“Why did you leave?” Nellie asked, sitting up from her position on the couch.

“There's a lot going on right now that you wouldn’t understand. But Abby was arrested again. This time it was worse. This time she's facing a few charges. Theft of rationed medicine, unauthorized deployment of a spacecraft, wasting critical resources. It doesn’t look good for her, Nellie.” Marcus grabbed his daughter’s hand. “I’m telling you this for a reason, Elanor. I talked to Jaha and he agreed to let you talk to Abby. It will be brief. But at least you'll be able to see her again”

“When?” Nellie asked, her hands shaking in anticipation. 

Marcus sighed. One of the reasons he loved his daughter was her giant heart and overwhelming empathy for everyone she met. It contrasted greatly with his reserved and analytical nature. He sometimes wished he possessed his daughter’s capacity for empathy, but there were other times where Nellie’s huge heart got in the way of her everyday life. 

“Right now,’’ Marcus rested a gentle hand on his daughter’s shoulder, “I’ll walk you down there.”

The walk to prison sector was tense. Marcus desperately wanted to say something to his daughter that would calm her mind, but he knew that whatever came out of his mouth, particularly at this specific moment, would most likely come out wrong or be taken the wrong way by his daughter. Instead he said nothing, letting the walk pass in silence. When they arrived at the cell, Jaha and a handful of guards were waiting.

“Elanor….” Jaha began.

Elanor glared at the chancellor. “Can I see her?”

“Listen to what he has to say, Nellie” Marcus scolded. The look that his daughter shot him was conflicted: excitement, anger, desperation. 

“Abby hasn’t been in the best state recently. You need to be careful around her. We don't know how she’s going to react to a visitor. We’ll be listening for any signs of distress. If we hear anything that worries us, we’ll come in to intervene. You have five minutes with her, but those five minutes will be on your terms. If you want out before the five minutes are over, just knock on the door and we’ll let you out. You are going to be safe, Elanor. I can promise you that”

“Can you promise me that Abby will be safe?”

The chancellor smiled, extending a hand to the doorknob. “You’re a smart girl, Elanor. You already know the answer to that”

The door swung open and Nellie caught a quick glance of Abby jumping to her feet. The moment Nellie had stepped into the cell, the door swung shut behind her. She heard a soft gasp escape Abby’s lips before she was enveloped in a hug. 

“Abby, I’m…..”

“Shhh”

“But Abby, it was..”

“Shush. You’re okay”

“But it was me!” Elanot pulled away from the embrace. “I’m the reason you were arrested”

“What do you mean, sweetheart?”

“My dad, he asked me all sorts of questions about you and what you've been doing lately. And he mentioned a strep outbreak on Mecha station, which I told him didn’t exist. That's when he left to arrest you.” Nellie began to shake, soft sobs escaping her mouth. “You were arrested and it was my fault”

“Oh Nellie,” Abby embraced her apprentice again, this time gently easing her to sit next to her on the bed. “It wasn’t you. I did something that left evidence that pointed towards me. It wasn't you”

“But if I hadn’t told him about the strep outbreak being fake, he wouldn’t have looked”

“Elanor, it doesn't matter anymore. There’s something important I need to tell you” Abby glanced at the door. “Did they tell you how long we have?”

“Five minutes”

“Elanor, don’t ask any questions until I’m done” Abby glanced towards the door. “The Ark is dying”

“What?”

“The Ark is dying. The air is running out. That’s why they floated my husband and locked Clarke up. It’s why they sent 100 of the juvenile delinquents down to Earth. They want to see if Earth is survivable. To see if we can join them someday soon. But, things went wrong upon landing and we lost communication with the 100. That's why I sent Raven down to Earth. She has a radio and the instructions to radio back as soon as she lands”

“Why so urgent, though?”

“Because, the council was voting on a plan to reduce the population on the Ark.” There was a moment of tense silence between the two. “Elanor, when you get out of here, go talk to Dr. Jackson. Tell him about my plan. He needs to monitor the radio at all times. Raven could radio back at any moment”

“But why didn’t you tell everybody that this is happening?” 

“It puts me and everyone close to me in more danger than they are already in. I need you to promise me you won’t tell the general public what you know until its the last resort, do you understand me?”

“Yes Abby” 

Abby wrapped Elanor in another hug. 

“You know that I’m really proud of you, Nellie”

The door to Abby’s cell swung open. Marcus stood in the doorway.

“Elanor, your time is up”

Elanor pulled Abby tighter. “I don’t want to go”

“You're going to be okay. Just do what I told you and everything will be fine” 

“Elanor, your time is up” The chancellor stepped into the cell. “Lets go”

With a shaky breath, Elanor pulled away from Abby and left the cell. 

The walk back to her room was tense. Her father never removed his hand from her back all the way until the door to their quarters was shut. 

“Are you happy now, Elanor?”

“I know about the 100”

“What? How did you….?” There was a pause as Marcus put the pieces together. “Abby”

“You sent some of my friends to the ground to die!”

“It's more complicated than that. You wouldn’t understand what’s happening”

“I know the Ark is dying, for a start,” Elanor glared at her father, trying to suppress the anger bubbling up inside of her. “I know you and a few other council members are trying to put a plan into motion to reduce the population of the Ark”

Marcus reached for his daughter. “This wasn't an easy choice, Elanor. None of us wanted this to happen”

“Then don’t do it. Come up with another plan. Do something else”

“There is no other plan. You’re just too young to understand that”

“Age didn’t stop you when you sent the 100 to the ground.” The silence that filled the room after Elanor said that hurt Marcus. “ And it's not going to stop your population reduction plan, is it?”

“Elanor, there is no other choice. But you can’t tell anyone that you know these things. They’ll execute you for treason, no matter your age.” Marcus’s voice cracked. “I can’t lose you”

“Don’t worry dad, I won’t” 

Elanor brushed past her father to her bed, where, without even stopping to take her shoes off, she curled into a ball, turning her back to her father. 

As Marcus walked off to his bed, he could just barely make out the sounds of soft sniffles coming from his daughter.


	4. Three

In the days after her conversation with Abby and the explosive argument with her father, Elanor fell into a numb routine. She threw herself into her apprenticeship, as medical was becoming more and more crowded each day that passed. But most of the time, against her will, she was put on radio monitoring duty as her lack of skills would only slow the doctors around her down. She gained a little more freedom once Abby had been released from prison, alternating between monitoring the radio and helping Abby with the minor cases in which limited skill was needed. 

Outside of her apprenticeship, she avoided her father. He seemed to sense that she was avoiding her and gave her space from him. They had both been so busy that it was uncommon to find them both at home together, but when they did, there were very few words exchanged between the two. Meals became an independent thing, breaking their tradition of eating together as much as possible that had gone on since Nellie was a little kid. 

As the Council’s population reduction play came closer to being executed, Elanor took longer shifts at the radio. Though she had originally been mad at her father for supporting the plan, here anger had subsided as her father had begun to show signs of the weight the plan carried in his mind. Though he hid it well in public, Elanor had caught him debating alternatives to the plan long into the night with other council members, and even the chancellor, who all seemed to be exhibiting similar signs of stress as her father.

The morning of the Culling, Elanor had gotten up extra early and took her place by the radio. The late night before left her exhausted, and when Jackson came to check on her, she was fast asleep.

“Hey” Jackson gently shook her awake. “Late night?”

“Yeah”

“Do you need a break?”

“Uh.. no”

“Are you sure about that?”

Elanor smiled. Dr. Jackson had that effect on her. His gentle and kind nature always made him a nice person to be around, especially when tired or stressed. 

Elanor sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Where’s Abby?”

“She left to go talk to the Chancellor a while ago”

“Oh”

“Did you need to talk to her?”

“No”

“If you need a break from the radio, I’ll gladly take over”

“Yeah, that’d probably be a good idea” Elanor stood up, vacating the designated radio monitoring seat for Jackson to take over. “I’ll go see if I can help out in medical”

Elanor spent a good chunk of time in medical after she left the radio. Her skills had improved greatly since her apprenticeship had started. She had progressed from scrapes, bumps, and bruises to handling larger cuts, minor burns, and the occasional sprained body part. She had just finished up soothing and treating a little girl who had twisted her ankle when she decided to relieve Jackson, who had been stuck on radio duty since she had left him. 

When she got there, Jackson was staring at one of the TV’s. On the TV was a video of Jake Griffin warning the population of the Ark that time was running out. Elanor’s breath caught in her chest. It had been a long time since Jake Griffin’s death and hearing his voice brought memories of her childhood back. Only a few moments later, the image on the screen flashed to a familiar face.

“Abby?”

It came out just louder than a whisper, but it was enough to let Jackson know she was there. He turned to her, a face full of shock mixed with fear. 

“We have to help her” he said softly.

Elanor shook her head. “It’s too late. The guards will be there before we can do anything”

Sure enough, banging was heard in the background of the video. Elanor saw Jackson flinch as Abby stated her final proclamation and the screen went black.

In the moments afterwards, there was nothing but tense silence filling the room. Eventually, Jackson turned to her. 

“What do we do?”

Elanor shook her head, still desperately trying to process what they had just seen.

“Nothing”

Jackson stood up, rushing to Elanor. “We can’t just leave her to rot. We have to help her”

“Jackson, there's nothing we can do. If we try to fight for Abby, we will end up in cells alongside her” 

A commotion outside shook them from their shocked states. The doors burst open and a member of the guard rushed into the room.

“Everyone is to return to their quarters immediately.” The guard stared at the two of them. “Elanor Kane, I have orders to escort you directly back to your quarters”

“Wait” Jackson’s voice was small and fragile. “Someone needs to stay and monitor the radio”

“Then you can stay. But Miss. Kane needs to come with us. Order from the Chancellor” 

The guard who had burst in grabbed Elanor’s arm and began to escort her forcefully back to her home. The entire time Elanor’s mind was racing with all of the possibilities. Did she do something wrong? Was someone out to get her? What would she face when she got home?

When they got to the door, Elanor cautiously opened it. Instead of an angry father, her grandmother was waiting for her. She rushed for Elanor, before thanking the guards and closing the door. 

“It’s okay, Nellie. You are safe now” 

“Nana, where’s dad?”

“He’s at work. But he sent the guards to keep us safe. There are angry people all over the station. It's not safe for us right now”

“Is dad coming home any time soon?”

“I don’t know, Nellie”

“What's going on?”

“Nellie, I don’t know”

“Nana, I’m scared”

“It’s okay. We’re going to be okay”

\----------------------------

Hours later, the door opened to a weary Marcus Kane. Both Elanor, who had been reading a book, and Vera, who had been dozing off, jumped to their feet. 

“What's going on? Is everything okay? Is Abby okay? Are people still going to die?”

Marcus said nothing as he embraced his daughter and mother. His daughter’s questions evaporated into the air. For a moment Marcus thought of nothing other than the joy that the two women in his arms brought him. As he pulled away, his daughter kept a tight grip on his arm.

“Dad, are we going to die?”

There was nothing but silence.

“Marcus,” he had never heard such fear in his mother’s voice before. “What's going on?”

“Everything is going to be okay”

“Marcus Kane, answer your daughter’s question right now!”

“We’re going to be fine. All three of us” Marcus let out a shaky breath. “The people are volunteering”

“They’re choosing to die?” Elanor’s voice was soft and scared.

“Yes”

“And you’re letting them?”

“Nellie, there’s no other option” Marcus felt tears threaten to fall from his eyes as he wrapped his daughter in a hug. “But you’re going to be safe”

“And Abby?”

“She’s fine. She’s not among the volunteers and we’re not forcing anyone to do it”

“What’s going to happen to her?”

“Elanor, that’s for the council to decide” Marcus took a deep breath and stepped away from his daughter. “I have to go back to work”

Before stepping out the door, Marcus looked back at his daughter one last time. 

“We’re going to be safe”


	5. Four

The moment the guards cleared Elanor to leave the next morning, she rushed out the door. She was well aware of the guard chasing behind her, eager to keep his eyes on the girl he had promised to protect. She didn’t care, though, and dashed through the hall, ignoring the awkward whispers and glances in her direction. She just kept running until she reached her destination. She flung the door open, much to the surprise of a very tired Dr. Jackson, and dashed into the room. 

“Anything?” She asked hopefully.

Jackson sighed and shook his head. He looked exhausted and Elanor guessed he had been up watching the radio all night, possibly with no break. 

“Did you get a break last night?”

“A short one. I had to examine the dead from the..” Jackson let his words fade off, knowing Elanor knew the other half of the sentence. He looked worn out and worried. There was almost nobody in the medical for the first time in weeks, due to the fact that the Ark was still recovering from the events of the night before. The halls were silent and the few people who ventured out to do whatever were only in the hall for as long as they needed to be. 

Elanor placed a gentle hand on Jackson’s back. 

“Go. Get something to eat and get some sleep. I can handle radio duty for now” Jackson stood and nodded, sauntering out of the door. 

Elanor wasn’t alone for long. As the day truly began, quite a few people streamed into the room. The radio monitoring station was in Earth Monitoring, cast off to the side as not to get in the way of the real, important work that was going on in Earth Monitoring. To Elanor, it was one of the most important things in the room, only coming after the vitals littering the screen. The first day she had come in to see the vitals all lit up, with only some of the tiles dark. Since then, something had gone wrong, and all the tiles had gone dark. When the tiles had been lit up, they had given Elanor hope that one day she too would be on the ground. Even after they went dark, Elanor kept a vague hope that maybe there had been an error and everyone was alive on the ground and one day she and the others in space would join them on the ground. 

Elanor had been so caught up in thought that when Sinclair said something to her, she jumped.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. What did you say?”

“I was asking if there were any developments?”

“Not yet, sir. But when I do, you’ll be the first to hear about it”

“Thank you.” 

Sinclair’s face was neutral, but his eyes said it all. He cared about Raven, the mechanic that was supposed to radio back. She had been one of the top mechanics on the Ark before going to Earth. In the days since she had left, Sinclair had become more and more involved in the conditions on Earth.

As Sinclair went back to work, Elanor spoke up. 

“Hey, Raven is going to be okay”

“We don’t know that. We know nothing about the conditions on the ground. We don’t even know if she made it”

“She made it, I’m sure of that. Something probably went wrong with the radio and Raven is fixing it up right now. If shes half as smart as you say she is, we’ll probably be hearing from her any minute now”

Sinclair looked at Elanor. “You know, your mom had a talent for that too”

“What?”

“Keeping people calm in stressful situations. Letting them know everything would be okay”

“I’d wish I’d gotten the chance to know her”

“Me too, Elanor. She was a wonderful woman”

The two shared a smile before returning to silence.

The rest of the day was tense and quiet. The events of the night before were still on everyone’s minds. Elanor spent the day reading about different medical procedures. She knew that the preferred way to learn about medical techniques was through practice and experiential learning, but medical was almost empty, with few doctors or patients to fill it up. 

Around midday, Abby came to visit Earth Monitoring. The moment Elanor saw Abby come through the doors, she jumped up and hugged Abby. 

“Any updates from Raven?”

“None yet. I thought you were busy”

“I was. I spent the morning in medical” Abby sighed, smiling at her younger apprentice. “I saw Dr. Jackson there. He said you came to relieve him earlier this morning”

“I had nothing else to do. Are you staying?”

“I can’t, Elanor. I’m heading to a council meeting. Keep me updated on the status of the radio”

“I will”

As Abby left, Elanor cast a worried glance towards Sinclair, who had been watching the exchange. He smiled back in response and came over to her. 

“You know, Abby really cares about you” Sinclair said. “All mentors care about their apprentices. Well, all good mentors that is. And I’d say its a safe bet that you got Abby as your mentor”

“Yeah. She’s the best doctor on the Ark,” Elanor sighed, “I got really lucky”

“I don’t think luck was the main factor in you getting Abby as your mentor”

“What do you mean?”

“Abby’s one of the best doctors this ship has ever had and you’re one of the best students. You got a medical apprenticeship, one of the most sought after apprenticeships on the Ark, at 14 years old. There hasn’t been a medical apprentice that young in quite a while. You’re a lot like Raven in that way. I think you two would get along, if you ever meet”

Elanor looked at Sinclair with a cautious smile. “Raven must really mean a lot to you?”

“Probably the best zero-G mechanic the Ark has ever seen. All this time, it's been incredible to watch her grow. I teach her something and fifteen minutes later she comes back to me having solved a problem that mechanics have been trying to solve for years. And she teaches me something in the process”

“Do all mentors talk about their apprentices like that?”

“Sometimes”

There was a moment of silence between them.

“Abby talks about you with so much pride. The things she says you can do compared to other apprentices, it's just like Raven. There’s so much potential”

Another moment of silence fell across the room. After a second, a noise came through the speakers. It was muddled and nearly unintelligible, but there was something that stood out from the static. Something that sounded like a voice.

“That sounded like a voice to you too, right?”

Sinclair nodded. “I did, but it could have been a number of things”

“Or it could have been Raven”

Elanor turned to the radio, which since the short burst had gone silent. It seemed to be picking up some sort of signal, but it was having a hard time locking on to whatever the signal was. 

“Here, let me see it”

Sinclair saw Elanor struggling with the settings and stepped in, changing things and pressing buttons with a hopeful sense of confidence. After a second, the signal came back stronger. It lasted for a burst, but it was enough motivation for Sinclair to work faster. 

There was a longer pause where the signal disappeared entirely for a few moments. Then, out of a burst of static came a voice, much clearer than the first two bursts.

“Is that….?”

“Get Abby!”

Elanor took off towards the council meeting room. The guard who had been assigned to protect her didn’t even stand a chance at catching her. The run to the council meeting room was brief, and before she knew it, she was standing outside the doors. 

“Ma’am, you can't go in there. The council is meeting right now” one of the guards outside of the door said, placing a hand out to stop her.

“I need to speak to Dr. Griffin. It’s urgent. It’s about the radio” Elanor reached past the guard and banged on the door. She could hear people talking inside, people who went silent when she banged on the door.

“Let her in”

The chancellor’s voice rang out loud enough for the guards to hear. The doors slid open for her and she stepped inside. 

From the scene inside, she had evidently interrupted a tense moment in the council chambers. All heads turned to look at her, curious as to why she had been allowed to interrupt.

“Abby! It’s the radio!” By that point, Elanor’s words had nearly been drowned out by Raven’s voice over the main speaker system of the Ark. “Raven did it. She’s on Earth”

The moment Elanor said those words, Abby dashed out of the room. Elanor and the rest of the council followed her back to Earth Monitoring, where Sinclair was frantically working on the radio. Once he had gotten it off the Ark-wide channel, Abby took over the radio. Elanor stood off to the side.

Once it was confirmed that the signal was coming from Earth, Marcus Kane approached his daughter. 

“I need you to go find your grandmother. Stay with her until this dies down. She’ll keep you safe from everything”

“But…”

“Elanor, I said go”

Shooting one last glance at the radio, Elanor headed back to her quarters. There, her grandmother was waiting eagerly.

“Was it from Earth?”

“Nana, I can’t….”

“Tell me, please”

“Yes, the signal is coming from Earth”

Vera wrapped her granddaughter in a hug.

“Nellie, we’re going home!”


	6. Five

The hours after the radio event were chaos.

Things moved so quickly that Elanor barely had time to process it. A few hours after Elanor had come home, when the public finally put the pieces together and realized what had happened, Vera had left to go to a memorial event for the people who had died. Elanor stayed behind in her quarters. She had curled up on her bed and was attempting to process the events of the past few days, when her father came home.

“What’s going on down on the ground?”

“They’re still alive. The kids that we sent down. Not all of them, but the ground is safe. Right now, there’s a hurricane over their position, but its not something that would be life threatening. We can survive down there”

“So, all the wristbands going dark, that was an error?” Elanor smiled. “Clarke and Wells are still alive down there?”

“Clarke is fine”

“And Wells?”

Her father shook his head.

“What happened?”

He shook his head again, indicating that he didn’t know anything more about Wells.

“Does the chancellor know?”

He nodded. Elanor looked at her father. He looked more beaten then she had ever seen him before. 

“If I had just waited a few more hours instead of pushing, all those people would still be alive. I’m the reason they’re dead”

Without another work, Marcus rushed off to his room, cutting himself off from his daughter. Elanor was left in the deafening silence. She decided to fill the silence, something she guessed her father was doing in his one way. She pulled out a tablet and pulled up old videos. Selecting the ones of her, Clarke, and Wells. She couldn’t have been older than 3.

“Alright, is everybody ready?” Jake Griffin’s voice came from behind the camera. A chorus of approval giggles came from the kids staring out the window. She could hear the chattering of their parents behind her. 

Clarke turned to the camera. “I think shooting stars are beautiful”

“They’re very pretty, Clarke” Mrs. Jaha’s voice. 

“I bet it's going to get really close” 6 year old Wells turned to Elanor. “It’s going to get so close that it’ll go…”

Wells made a loud sound and jumped toward Elanor. There was a moment of shock on Elanor’s face before she began sobbing loudly. Wells turned away from her with a look of “I-didn’t-do-it” on his face.

“Wells!” Mrs. Jaha’s voice scolded. She reached down and picked Elanor up. “Apologize right now!”

“She won’t understand it, why should I?”

The chancellor’s voice came from nearby. “Wells Jaha, did I just hear you talk back to your mother?”

“No”

“Apologize now’

“I’m sorry, Elanor”

Elanor seemed to calm down after Wells said that. It wasn’t necessarily his words that calmed her, but Mrs. Jaha took it as enough from her soon and let him run off.

“Look, it's coming!” 

Clarke’s shout brought everyone to the viewing window. She was right. The shooting star passed by the Ark, plenty far enough away for everyone to be safe, but close enough that it was easily the center of attention. For a moment, the room went silent. Everyone stared in silent awe as the lights passed. 

The silence was broken by somebody’s phone. Adult voices were heard in the background, before multiple pairs of footsteps rushed out the door. 

As the door to her father’s area of the cabin swung open, Elanor stopped the video. Her father stood in the doorway, looking disheveled.

“Where is the memorial being held?”

“I don’t think that’s the best idea right now”

“Where?” Elanor made eye contact with her father. His eyes were filled with a soft sense of desperation. 

“Dad it might be best if you stay here for now. People are in shock. Only a few hours ago, people thought that we still had a hundred years before the first people returned to the ground. Now, people know that the ground is not only survivable, but there are people down there too. They don’t know how to respond”

Marcus approached his daughter slowly, his eyes filled with dread and sorrow.

“Nellie, please. I need to know. I need to go”

Elanor sighed. “It’s on B deck, where they died”

Her father nodded in acknowledgment and turned to the door.

“Wait,” Elanor called out, “let me come with you”

Though she stated it in a passive way that let him reject her, they both knew that it wasn’t up for debate. As the two walked towards the memorial service, people in the halls around them stopped and whispered as they walked by.

As the pair stepped onto B deck, Elanor slowed and let her father go in by himself. She could sense the angry looks and the disgust aimed at her father. She knew that the people who had lost a loved one blamed her father for it, and they had every right to. 

The tenseness in the room rose as her father made his way to the front of the room, where people’s personal possessions were strew out across a sort of makeshift altar. Still, Elanor stayed back. She knew she was getting looks as well, but they weren’t the angry kind aimed at her father. They were glances full of pity and hesitation, knowing she had nothing to do with the deaths that had occurred there hours before. 

When the people in the room started forming around her father, Elanor pushed towards the front, ready to intervene if something happened. 

“You’ve got some balls coming here” a man said, stepping forward. 

Her grandmother, who was at her father’s side, stepped forward to say something, but her father pushed her away.

“You’re standing where my wife took her last breath”

“ I’m so, so, so sorry”

“Tell me she didn’t die for nothing”

She could feel the tension in the room grow when her father hesitated to respond.

“If I did,” her father looked at a loss for words, something rarely achieved, “I would be lying”

“So it's true,” the man said, closing on her father. “ You knew those kids were on the ground. That the Earth is survivable!”

Elanor stepped forward to intervene. She caught her father’s eye. He shook his head.

“Don’t” 

Another voice from the crowd spoke up. “You were supposed to protect us!”

People murmured in agreement. The original man from the crowd stepped forward and shoved her father to the ground. He fell hard into the altar, then slid to the ground. 

Elanor leapt forward and placed hers left between the man and her father.

“Stop! Please! Violence is going to do nothing” She addressed the crowd desperately, but they weren’t paying attention to her.

The original man turned to face the crowd. His face was red with rage.

“You know what? This scumbag took people we loved from us. Why don’t we take some he loves from him?”

The crowd shouted in agreement as the man turned back to Marcus Kane.

“Now you’ll know how it feels to have to live without someone you love”

Two men from the crowd grabbed Elanor. She felt the panic her chest rising considerably as they pulled her away from her father, who was being held back by others from the crowd. Elanor panicked, squirming and twisting desperately, kicking and punching anyone she could hit. As the crowd grew in intensity, she let out a desperate scream, begging for the men who were dragging her away to let her go.

“Enough!”

The chancellor’s voice rang out through the cramped space. She felt the men stop pulling her and let go.

“Stand back!” Jaha pushed through the crowd to Elanor who was frozen in place, shaking. Jaha lowered his voice. “Are you alright?”

Elanor nodded. The guards had begun to push the crowd back. Jaha motioned for her to go to her father, before stepping off to take care of a squalor that had come up on the other side of the room. Elanor dashed over to her father, who wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt? What did they do to you?”

“Dad, I’m okay”

Marcus looked up to see Jaha looking at him. He stepped away from his daughter.

“I don’t need you to defend me”

Jaha shot him a look of “I’ll deal with you later”, before turning back to the crowd. Marcus turned back to his shaking daughter and wrapped an arm around. Elanor pushed herself into her father’s side, pushing her face into her father’s shoulder. She could hear the chancellor speaking, but she tuned it out. Eventually she felt a hand on her shoulder that wasn’t her fathers. She looked up to see the chancellor. He turned to a guard standing nearby.

“Take her to Dr. Griffin”

“Yes sir”

The guard shielded Elanor from the people in the halls until they reached medical. Immediately, Dr. Jackson came over, waving the guard away.

“What happened?”

Elanor ignored the question. All she could think about was getting to Abby.

“Where’s Abby?”

“She’s off duty” Dr. Jackson finally realized that something was wrong. “Come on. I’ll take you to her”

Elanor usually would have refused, since doctors were a precious resource on the Ark, and being one doctor down would be crippling to medical. But she did not want to be alone. Dr. Jackson was good at cheering people up, and that was exactly what Elanor needed. 

The walk to Abby’s quarters was filled with Jackson talking and Elanor’s occasional comments. By the time the two reached Abby’s door, Elanor was in a much better mood. 

“I’ll leave you here and get back to work” Jackson said. Casting Elanor one last glance, he left.

For a moment, Elanor stood outside of Abby’s door. She wasn’t sure what to say to Abby. She eventually knocked.

“One second!”

She heard shuffling inside and then the door opened.

“Nellie?” Abby looked confused. “I wasn’t expecting you. Come in”

Nellie stepped inside, looking around at Abby’s quarters. She was still in the same place as she’d lived in with Clarke, so the space was much bigger than what she expected.

“Is everything okay?”

“Not really”

“What happened?”

“We went to the memorial”

“We?”

“My father and I” Elanor paused and then continued. “It was for the people who died in the Culling. My father wanted to go. I didn’t think it was a good idea, but he convinced me that he needed to go. When we got there, people were angry. They blamed him for what happened. They said that if he had just waited a little bit longer, everything would have been okay. They wanted him to suffer like they had”

Abby heard the shake in Elanor’s voice and braced herself for whatever Elanor was about to say.

“They tried to float me!” The reality of the events that had gone on at the memorial crashed down on Elanor and she began to sob. Abby wrapped her in a hug as exhaustion washed over Elanor and before either of them realized what was happening, Elanor was unconscious. 

———————————

Everything was hazy when Elanor woke back up. 

She was in her quarters. The lights were off, which indicated that it was most likely her sleep period. She could hear adults talking nearby and picked up snippets of the conversation

“... she’s been through a lot…” 

“...tough, she’s always been…”

“....Is she…”

“... she just needs some rest…”

“... I’m worried about her …”

“...few days and she will be fine…” 

“The last few days have been tough on all of us” the chancellor’s voice said quietly.

Abby’s voice spoke up “I’ll check on her one last time before I leave”

Footsteps approached Elanor and she felt fingers run through her hair. The voices of the chancellor and her father mixed together out of sight. 

Abby bent down into Elanor’s sight line.

“Get some rest , sweetheart. You’ll feel better soon”


	7. Six

Elanor spent most of her time after the incident in medical. She spent hours learning new skills. Though not much had changed on the Ark, people had begun avoiding Elanor in the hallways and asking for a different person to help them in medical. She had briefly had the opportunity to talk to Clarke. The conversation had been awkward and short and had really been more about helping Clarke through a trickier injury that one of the 100 had sustained then their friendship. Elanor kept an eye out for updates on what was going on with the people on the ground, but other than her short conversation with Clarke, she wasn’t given direct contact with the ground. 

Though things on the Ark were strange initially, the mood started to lighten when it was announced that the first dropship was going to launch only a few hours after Unity day. The combination of the two events, mixed with the fact that people were starting to come to the realization that Elanor had nothing to do with the Culling and therefore should not be punished or shunned in any way because of it, had made Elanor’s life a little easier. 

The day before Unity day, Elanor found herself in an unusually cheery mood. She had eaten her breakfast ration with her father in the mess hall, which was something Elanor hadn’t done in quite some time. During that breakfast, a conversation had been struck up between Elanor and her father.

“So, I’ll be on the first drop ship, since I’m overseeing security on the ground”

“I know Dad. You’ve told me a million times”

“Well, the council along with the heads of each department have been putting together a list of people who should go down on the first dropship, and your name came up”

“What? But I’m just an apprentice…”

“Apparently Abby thinks of you as more than just an apprentice” Marcus smiled. “Between the good word that Abby put in for you and the fact that you are my daughter, the council has decided that you’ll be on the first dropship”

“What about Nana?”

“You know that essential personnel come first in situations like this, Nellie. Once the council has determined that all essential personnel necessary for the first dropship are included on the list, then citizens will be selected through merit, their personal record, position, and occupation” Marcus took a bite of his ration. “Have you spoken to any of your friends on the ground?”

“Just Clarke. I was asked to help her with something” Elanor sensed that her father had just deflected her question, but didn’t bring it back up. “I think Clarke was surprised to see me. I think she was expecting a doctor or a better trained apprentice. But the procedure was pretty simple, so Dr. Jackson had me do it”

“Dr. Jackson?”

“I don’t know what's going on, but Clarke won’t speak with her mother”

At that moment, one of the alerts on her dad’s pager went off. He looked down and sighed.

“I’m sorry to cut our conversation short, but I have to go” Marcus stood up. “You can have the rest of my food”

Before Elanor had time to protest, he was gone. She finished the remains of the food, then headed off to her work herself. Arriving at medical, she found it surprisingly empty. The doctors were all busy and there were a handful of patients waiting to be seen, but it was a pleasant change from the overwhelming numbers of people that had been coming in over the weeks before. 

“Elanor, I need your help with this” Abby called from across the room. Elanor joined her mentor. Abby was treating a little boy who had a gash over his eye. “Elanor, I need you to run a basic check-up on Sam. He tripped and fell and his mother is worried that he may have sustained injuries that we can’t see”

“Of course” Elanor caught the gleam in Abby’s eyes and went straight to work. 

As she worked, Abby pulled the inquisitive mother aside.

“Will my son be alright?”

“He’ll be fine. I’ve already checked him over and there’s no sign of any injuries other than the gash on his head”

“Then why did you bring the apprentice over?”

“Because she’s been learning so much recently, I wanted to test her”

“And you’re sure my son is going to be alright?”

“Absolutely. And when Elanor is done, she’ll come to the same conclusion”

Elanor finished up with the young boy and turned to Abby.

“He’s all good. Might want to cover that gash though. I’ll get right on it” 

“Thank you Elanor, but Dr. Jackson can take care of that”

“Really, it's fine. It's really simple ....” Abby shook her head at her apprentice. “Okay, Dr. Jackson can take care of you”

As the mother and her son walked away, Abby approached Elanor.

“I’m impressed”

“Thank you Abby” Elanor said, washing her hands.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?”

“Of course” Elanor turned to her mentor, drying her hands. 

“Are you okay?”

“What?”

“You bounced back pretty quickly from a lot of stress. I wanted to make sure that everything was really okay with you”

“Yeah. I’m getting better”

“And have you spoken to Clarke recently?” Abby’s voice was hesitant.

“Briefly. I helped her through a basic procedure yesterday”

“How was she?”

“She seemed okay. She was a little stressed and pretty tired, but it's nothing that she can’t handle”

Elanor paused, unsure of whether to continue or not.

“She said she was excited for you to come down”

Abby let out a shuddering gasp. “She did?”

“I think she misses having something or someone familiar around. Whatever it is that happened between the two of you, it will get better once you get down there”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, Abby. You’re her mother. She loves you no matter what”

\---------------------

The rest of the day went by relatively quietly. Medical had a slow stream of people coming in and out. Elanor did her job, well aware of Abby’s watchful eye keeping a mindful eye out for her. She had begun to lose some of the restrictions that had once prevented her from helping patients efficiently.

When her shift was over, Elanor returned to her quarters and fell asleep immediately.

She woke up the next morning to her father shaking her .

“Happy Unity Day”

“It’s Unity Day! I completely forgot about that”

“Well, Unity Day celebrations are starting in less than an hour, so you need to get ready”

Elanor rushed through her morning routine, getting ready for the day in record time. The morning was a blur, and the next thing she realized, she was standing in the main meeting hall of the Ark, in position for the Unity Day pageant. She stood at the edge of the crowd, near her father. As Jaha began his speech, her father turned to her and shot her a genuine smile.

When Clarke and Wells had been on the Ark for Unity Day, the three of them had stood together at the edge of the crowd. Every year, Clarke and Elanor would try to make Wells giggle, which only resulted in stern looks from the adults around them and hushed attempts from Wells to try to get the two girls to stop before they got in trouble. It almost always ended in Clarke getting Wells to laugh and the three receiving a stern glare from the chancellor. 

This year was the first one that Elanor was alone for. She knew that somewhere down on Earth, Clarke was most likely watching from a distance. But Wells was dead. No amount of Unity Day cheerfulness or words from the chancellor could ever change that. 

The chancellor was wrapping up his speech when Elanor felt a gentle pressure on her back. 

“Happy Unity Day, Nellie” her grandmother stood behind her. 

“Happy Unity Day”

“You’ll be on the ground soon”

The chancellor’s speech ended and the pageant people took their places. The audience shifted and Elanor was pulled away from her grandmother. She could hear her grandmother and father engage in a brief conversation. In front of her, the pageant began. 

“Long ago, when the Earth was on fire, 12 stations floated through space, all alone. Then one day Mir floated by Shinzin and they realized, life would be better together. The other stations saw this and they wanted to be together too”

From across the room, Elanor caught the chancellor’s eye, and the two exchange a smile.

“When all the stations were joined, they called themselves…”

An explosion rocked the room, and everything went dark.


	8. Seven

The moment Elanor’s vision came back, she scrambled to her feet. Her ears were ringing and she could hear very little. She scanned the room, moving to help people who seemed to be hurt while searching for her father.

Instead of her father, she found her grandmother.

Vera Kane was lying in the middle of the chaos. There was a large chunk of something sticking out of her abdomen. Elanor pushed through the crowds of people scrambling away from the chaos and stepped around the people who were still on the floor until she was at her grandmother’s side.

At a closer distance, Elanor realized it was worse than she had anticipated. The shard of metal sticking out of her grandmother’s side was jagged and larger than she had thought. She reached down and grabbed her grandmother’s hand.

“Nana, you’re going to be okay. Just stay with me. I’m not leaving your side”

Vera didn’t respond. Her breaths were shallow and shaky. Elanor scanned the room for someone who could help. A few feet away, she spotted her father, who was staring at the chancellor and Abby in the middle of the room.

“Dad!” He didn’t hear her the first time, so she shouted louder. “Dad!”

Elanor watched her voice register with her father. Scanning the room, his eyes fell on his daughter and mother and he raced over to them.

“Is she going to be okay?”

“I don’t know. I can’t treat this” Elanor locked eyes with her father. “ I don’t know what to do”

Marcus Kane lifted up his mother’s head and moved it to a more comfortable position. When Vera spotted her son, she tried to make a noise but nothing came out.

Elanor felt a hand fall on her back, gently pushing her away from her grandmother. Abby settled on the floor and examined her patient. Coming to a conclusion, she made eye contact with Marcus and shook her head. Abby wrapped her arm around Elanor, who had not let go of her grandmother’s hand, and pulled the young girl close to her.

“No” Elanor said weakly. “There has to be something”

“I’m sorry sweetheart, there’s nothing we can do '' Abby stroked Elanor’s hair gently as Elanor started to sob. Marcus leaned in closer to his mother, pulling her up towards him.

“In peace may you leave this shore, in love may you find the next. Safe passage on your travels, until our final journey to the ground. May we meet again” 

Vera let out a shaky breath then went limp. Marcus looked up to Abby, who nodded her head silently. In her arms, Elanor let out a loud sob and reached for her grandmother. Abby held her back, gently shushing her and running her fingers through Elanor’s messy hair. 

“Marcus, I’m so sorry,” the chancellor said. Elanor watched her father’s face go blank as he transitioned back to work mode.

“Sir, we have to get you out of here” he said, rising to his feet. He glanced down at Abby and his daughter. “Can you…?”

“I’ll stay with her, Marcus” 

Marcus nodded and moved towards the chancellor, returning to the problem they were currently facing. The two walked away, wrapped up in conversation. 

“Elanor, I need you to pay attention” Abby’s voice was stern, but held a hint of compassion. “We have people we need to help. It's our job. I know you’re hurting but you need to work with me”

Elanor nodded. The room was still a mess with injured people all over the place. Abby moved straight to work with a calmness that put patients at ease. Elanor worked with her, helping her in any way that she could. She took care of some of the people whose injuries didn’t need major care. The whole time Elanor felt numb. She didn’t know how much time had passed before she heard Abby calling her name.

“Elanor, I have to head down to the dropship to load medical supplies. Are you coming with me?”

“Yeah”

“Let’s go”

Elanor couldn’t process anything that was happening around her. She felt herself walking to the dropship with Abby. She could feel herself checking the boxes of medical supplies, loading them onto the ship, and securing them in place for their trip to Earth. But none of it felt real. It felt like a very realistic nightmare, one that she couldn’t wake up from, no matter how hard she tried. Time passed. Guards came in and ordered everyone to the cargo deck as they did a security sweep. She was, at first, impartial to the guards commands. Even after he began to yell at her, she still didn’t move and kept securing medical supplies in their assigned spots. It wasn’t until she heard footsteps and a familiar voice that she snapped back to reality.

“Thank you. I’ll take it from here” Elanor’s father dismissed the guard, who proceeded to continue his sweep. “Nellie, let's get you to where you need to be”

Marcus wrapped one arm around his daughter, guiding her towards the area where all personnel were supposed to wait. As he entered the area he made eye contact with Abby.

“Where did you find her?” Abby asked.

“She was loading supplies,” Marcus said. He glanced around and lowered his voice. “She wasn’t reacting to anything anyone said to her. Is she okay?”

“Shock,” Elanor’s voice was shaky. “I’m in shock, aren’t I?”

Abby nodded.

“Will she get better?” 

Abby nodded. “She needs some time to process, but she should recover”

Marcus sighed. “I have to get back to work”

A guard came by to report that all was clear. Hearing that, the guy in charge of cargo on the dropship sent everyone back to work. Elanor returned to the supplies she had been loading. She could see the adults talking by the entrance, their faces serious. A few moments later, Abby joined her. 

“It seems that all necessary supplies are on board, so all we have to do now is secure it” Abby said. “And they caught the bomber. Your father is going to talk to him now”

“That’s good’’

“Elanor, if you need someone to talk to, I’m here for you” Abby watched her apprentice, looking for any sort of reaction.

“Thank you” Elanor said indifferently, not even stopping what she was doing. 

For a few minutes, the pair worked in silence. The job was relatively easy compared to the tasks they were used to in medical. 

“It's not fair,” Elanor said, breaking the silence. “The bomb wasn’t meant to kill her. She wasn’t the target. It was meant for some other reason, and yet it didn’t care who she was. It killed her anyways”

Abby was at a loss for words. Of all the things to come out of Elanor’s mouth, that was not what she had expected.

“There’s no logic to death. That’s what makes it so hard to deal with” Abby said eventually. “It doesn’t care who you are as a person. It just takes”

“Like Jake”

“That wasn’t the same thing”

“Then, like Wells” 

“Nellie, I don’t… It's just...” Abby sighed, struggling with the right thing to say. “It is horrible, no matter what. No matter what the person means to you. Understanding death and accepting death are a part of being a doctor. You’ll figure out your way to cope with it soon. But until then, I’m here for you”

“I want her back”

“Elanor…”

Three loud beeps rang out through the ship and a handful of guards pulled out their batons, knocking the other guards out and holding the others who had been loading cargo as hostages. Abby reached for Elanor, pushing her down behind the towers of supplies and covering her mouth. 

“Stay down and stay quiet” Abby poked her head up and peeked out at the commotion going on. After a moment, Abby squatted down next to her.

“What’s going on?”

“Diana Sydney. It's a mutiny. She’s taking the Exodus ship and throwing everyone who’s not an ally off of it”

“What do we do?”

“Nothing for right now”

The two sat crouched behind piles of medical supplies for some time. They could hear shuffling and commotion out in the main area of the cargo deck. Every once in a while, Abby would glance out from behind the pile of supplies and whisper updates of what was happening to Elanor. On the last of Abby’s glances, she squatted back down with a slight smile.

“The guards are here. They’re trying to get the door open” Abby smiled. “Jaha and your father are out there. They’re going to do whatever they can to open those door”

“How do we help?”

“For now, just wait,” Abby whispered.

The two crouched behind the pile for a few moments, straining to hear what the people at the door were saying. Suddenly, hands grabbed Elanor, yanking her to her feet.

“Hey! What are you two doing here?” Elanor yelped as the man pulled her away from Abby, who rose to her feet in response. He pushed Elanor out from behind the stack of supplies and towards the door, motion for Abby to follow. 

As Elanor came into view of the doors, she took in the situation. It looked like a standoff between those outside the doors and those inside the ship. People desperately worked to open the door.

The man who had found them pulled them to the center of the room. “We found stragglers”

When Marcus Kane saw his daughter, he lunged at the window, banging on it and shouting for the people inside to let her go. Abby protectively placed herself between Diana Sydney and Elanor, hoping to allow the young girl a little more safety.

“Diana, don’t do this” Abby pleaded. 

“It's already done” she replied. As one of her guards stepped forwards, she stopped them. “Wait. We could use a doctor on the ground. What do you say, Abby? You can see your daughter again today”

Abby huffed, puffing her chest out. She glanced back at Elanor and nodded. Elanor wasn’t sure what it meant, but she guessed she would be able to figure it out. 

“I’m nothing like you” Abby lunged for the release lever that would allow the doors to be opened. For a second, everyone stood frozen. Elanor saw a guard step forward and leapt to cover Abby. Instead of hitting Abby, the guard’s shock baton hit her chest, sending electricity racing through her body. She collapsed to the floor and the last thing she saw before she passed out was her father’s face, frozen with an expression of shock.


	9. Eight

When Elanor woke up again, her surroundings were dark. She could feel another body next to hers, gently shaking her awake. She lifted her head and spotted a man she didn’t know.

“Where are we?”

“An airlock that connects to a service hatch on the Exodus ship,” the man responded.

Elanor lifted herself up to a sitting position, looking around the airlock. A few feet away she spotted Abby. She crawled over to Abby and shook her mentor awake.

“Abby”

“What happened?”

“We’re in a service airlock that was connected to the Exodus ship”

“It’s probably where Sydney had her people put us after she knocked us out” Abby turned to the others in the airlock. “Why hasn’t someone come to help us?”

A woman, presumably from engineering, turned to Abby. “The Exodus ship most likely left before it was decoupled. That crippled the Ark. We were some of the lucky ones. The airlock kept us alive”

“Can we get the doors opened?” Another man asked.

“No,” the woman from engineering glanced around the room, “and that’s not the worst news”

“We’re running out of air” Elanor guessed. The woman nodded.

“Based on the air conditions right now, I’m guessing we have about two hours of air left, at most,” the woman said. “And, based on the amount of damage that the Ark, I’m guessing that the cooling system is offline. Due to the position of the airlock in relation to the fuel pod, it's about to get a lot hotter in here”

“How much hotter?” A nervous man asked.

“I don’t know exactly. The fuel pods are at about 220 degrees Fahrenheit. We have a decent amount of insulation between us and the fuel pods, but I’d say it’ll get up to 150 degrees in here, maybe hotter”

“In those temperatures, we’ll all overheat. It’ll kill us in a matter of hours” Abby commented.

“Great,” the man who had woken Elanor up spoke up. “We either run out of oxygen and suffocate or overheat slowly and die a miserable death”

“Or a combination of both” an unhelpful woman from the other side of the room added.

The woman from engineering stood up. “We need to get the doors open”

“We have no tools” A man grumbled.

“Well, then we scream for help” A different man added.

“That would just be a waste of air” Abby said.

“So what do we do?” A woman asked, her voice shaking.

Abby and the woman from engineering looked at each other.

“I don’t know,” Abby said.

“I’ll work on a plan” the woman from engineering volunteered. “Until then, everyone stay calm and try to conserve air.

As the woman went to work on a plan with two others, Elanor plopped herself down next to Abby, placing her head on the doctor’s shoulder. 

“I’m scared Abby”

“Its okay Elanor. I’m scared too”

“Every other time that something terrible has happened, there’s always been a way out of the situation” Elanor sighed, placing her head on Abby’s shoulder.

“We will find a way out of this” Abby reached an arm around Elanor. They sat in silence for a while, watching the others in the airlock. Almost everyone else in the airlock was the same way, still and scared. Eventually, the volunteers who had spent quite a while trying desperately to open the doors gave up, realizing that this was a problem that would have to be fixed from the other side, due to the lack of power to the doors. 

After a while, the people in the airlock began to feel the temperature rising considerably. The air was getting harder and harder to breathe and, as time passed, people started to pass out.

At Elanor’s side, Abby went limp. Elanor tried to revive her, but she could feel herself going limp. At her mentor’s side, Elanor slipped into unconsciousness.

\---------------------

When Marcus Kane reached the airlock, his hands and arms were raw and burning. Sweat poured across his body and his breathing was panicked. As he pulled himself out of the service hatch, he glanced through the doors of the airlock. It was dark inside and he could see bodies but no movement. The thought of his daughter being among the bodies in the airlock sent him into panic mode and he raced to open the doors. As they opened he hurried inside, checking each of the people inside for life and, more importantly, searching for his daughter.

He had checked nearly every person in the airlock and still hadn’t spotted his daughter. As the survivors began to regain consciousness and started moving around, he spotted two people lying next to each other. He leapt over to them, recognizing his daughter’s auburn hair. Reaching her side, he pulled her into his arms and checked for a pulse. Marcus to gently stroked her hair as Elanor began to stir. She spotted him and smiled.

“Dad” she whispered. He nodded and gently sat her back down in a sitting position, moving on to the person next to her. Abby had her eyes open and smiled when she caught sight of Marcus Kane. For a moment, three sat in silence. 

A cough from one of the other survivors brought Marcus back to the reality of his situation. He stood up and addressed the people around him.

“We need to go”

“Go where?” A woman asked. 

“Earth monitoring. I have a way to get there and there’s people who are waiting for us. The air isn’t safe here anymore” He moved to help up Abby. When she grabbed his hand, he hissed in pain.

“Are you hurt?” Abby examined his hand gently. 

“I burned my hand crawling through the maintenance shaft,” Marcus glanced around at the others who were staring at him. “We can deal with it later. Right now, we need to go”

Marcus reached down and helped his daughter to her feet. He led the people through the series of doors that led back to Earth monitoring. As the group entered the room, all eyes turned to them. 

“Abby” Doctor Jackson rushed towards her. “Are you alright?”

“Abby” the chancellor called. Dr. Jackson moved out of his way. The chancellor came to a stop right in front of Abby. “It's good to see you”

“You too, Thelonius” Abby replied. “How many survivors are there?”

“We’re not sure yet. We have teams out searching for survivors as we speak” The chancellor turned to the group of survivors from the airlock. “How many did you bring?” 

“Eighteen” Marcus wrapped an arm protectively around his daughter. “We didn’t find anyone on the way back, so it's just the people from the airlock”

The chancellor turned to someone standing a few feet away. “Lead them all to them all to the mess hall. Once the teams that are out return, we’ll have a general assembly meeting”

“I can take care of anyone who needs medical help,” Elanor volunteered. The chancellor nodded in approval, turning back to the other advisors around him. Elanor guided the handful of injured down to the medical area. It had managed to survive the launch of the Exodus ship with minimal damage. The remaining doctors and medical apprentices milled around, attending to a handful of patients. Elanor joined the others, working her way from the severe cases down to the less severe patients.

After almost an hour, when things had cleared up, Marcus came into medical. He caught Elanor’s eye and waved her over. 

“Abby said I should get my hands checked out” Elanor gently grabbed his hands, examining his palms.

“What happened?”

“I burned them while crawling through the service hatch”

Elanor grabbed some burn relief cream and bandage and began to treat his hands.

“Well, you’ll survive. The burns are pretty mild, but try to avoid using your hands for a while. They’re going to be sore and raw for a few days while the burns heal”

“Thank you” Marcus pulled his bandaged hands away from his daughter. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m not dead,” Elanor said sarcastically. Catching her father’s sharp glare, she softened. “I don’t know. The last few hours have all been a lot to process. I haven’t really had the chance for it to feel real. It feels like some horrible nightmare and at any moment I’m going to wake up and it will all go away”

“But it's not a nightmare”

“I know”

Marcus wrapped his daughter in a gentle sympathetic hug. “Whatever happens, we’ll get through it together”


	10. 9

“Jaha called a general assembly meeting, I have to go” 

Marcus sat across from his daughter in the mess hall. No one was eating. All the survivors were gathered around the room, speaking no louder than a whisper. Occasionally, someone would come and go. The room was filled with tension as people waited for their fate.

Elanor stood up with her father. “I should probably go check on Jackson”

Marcus nodded curtly.

“Wait” He spun around to face his daughter. “When it's done I’ll come find you”

Elanor nodded. She watched her father walk away among a crowd of station representatives and heads of departments. She headed back to where a makeshift medical area had been established. The trek back to medical from the mess hall was frustratingly long and inconvenient, so supplies had been moved up into the mess hall to take care of all the patients.

Doctor Jackson was with a young woman when Elanor found him. She was unconscious and her breathing was irregular. Oxygen was being pumped into her lungs by a machine. Jackson was sitting by her side, monitoring her vitals and holding her hand.

“Hey” Jackson jumped and spun around. 

“Elanor” Jackson looked tired but excited to see her.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Not really. All of our current patients are stable” Jackson turned back to the woman.

“And her?”

“She’s a friend. We lived near each other and our parents knew each other fairly well” Jackson sighed. “She’s still got shrapnel in her lungs from the explosion. We are waiting to see if it stabilizes before we operate again”

“Oh”

Elanor pulled a chair over next to Jackson and sat with him. Neither of them wanted to talk, but they also didn’t want to be alone. Instead, the two sat in silence, listening to the room around them. A handful of little kids played tag in the corner, blissfully oblivious to the grave nature of the situation that they were in. Adults around the room chatted, sharing the latest gossip or speculating on what was happening at the meeting. A few desperate parents searched for their kids. Everyone was tense, waiting to hear back from the general meeting.

The meeting wasn’t very long. Only a half hour after it started, the station representatives returned, sharing the news that the Ark was dying, rationing was over, and the people of the Ark could do whatever they wanted with the rest of the time they had. 

Abby and Jackson took the comatose woman away to the operating room for one last attempt to save her life. Elanor could tell it was a desperate attempt, but Abby was insistent. They left Elanor alone in an increasingly emptying room.

As the room cleared, Elanor spotted her father. She rushed to him, wrapping him in a tight hug. 

“Dad…”

“I have to go”

“What?”

“I’m gathering a group of people. We’re going to rerun all the simulations”

“But they already…”

“We are going to find a way to survive this, I promise you. Until then, stay here and wait. I want to be able to find you when we do”

“You’re selfish, you know that?” Elanor’s sharp remark hit hard as she stepped away from her father. “This is it. This is the end. I just want to be you”

“Nellie, please” Marcus pleaded desperately. “I have a responsibility to save our people”

Elanor softened. “Fine. Go ahead. But I’m not stating here”

Marcus backed away from his daughter. “I’m doing this because I love you. I want to keep you safe”

With those words, he was gone, lost in a crowd of people.

Elanor didn’t know what she was going to do. She wandered the Ark for a while, eventually finding a familiar door in front of her.

The chancellor looked surprised when he saw Elanor at the door, but he wasn’t going to refuse her. He let her in, returning to his spot on the couch. She sat next to him, looking at him uncertainly.

“Where’s your father?”

“Running simulations” Elanor looked at Chancellor Jaha. She looked like a scared little girl, the one who used to play with his son when they were little. “Uncle Theo, I’m scared”

“You haven’t called me that in a very long time” Chancellor Jaha chuckled. “Come on, I’m watching some old videos of you, Wells, and Clarke when you were little kids”

Elanor turned her attention to the screen in front of her. On it was an old video of Clarke and Wells from when they had been in the Unity Day pageant. It started with Wells reciting the script for the Unity Day pageant, the chancellor correcting him when he made mistakes.

Eventually, once he had finished the speech, little Wells asked “ Daddy, how does the Ark stay in space?”

Jaha responded “Good question. By keeping of of the Earth’s gravitational pull”

“My daddy says its the thrusters” little Clarke added.

An idea popped into Elanor’s head and she paused the video.

“That’s it”

Jaha turned to her. “Elanor, what are you talking about”

“This is crazy, but hear me out. The Ark was launched into space, albeit in its original 12 stations. That means it was built to withstand exiting and, in theory, re-entering Earth’s atmosphere”

Jaha nodded, starting to piece together what she was saying.

“So, what would happen if, instead of keeping us in orbit, we used the thrusters to fall into Earth’s gravitational pull? Would that work? Would we survive?”

The chancellor sat for a moment, contemplating what the teen had just proposed. 

“I don’t know. It may, but I don’t have the ability to tell you”

“But Sinclair would, right? He’s chief of engineering” Elanor was getting more and more excited. “So all we need to do now is find him. And I think I know where he is”

“Where?”

“Earth monitoring. That’s where my father is running simulations. And, as he’s the only person who has the expertise to run simulations, he would be there too”

“It's a long shot. A tiny chance, at best. The Ark is so old, the heat shielding might not work anymore.” Jaha stood, walking to his desk. He pulled out a blueprint of the Ark. “But it's the best plan that I’ve heard today. Let’s go ask Sinclair”

The whole way to Earth monitoring, Elanor was nearly running. She kept ahead of Jaha, pushing impatiently to get there faster and occasionally having to circle back when she left Jaha too far behind. When they did arrive, Elanor was out of breath.

Heads turned as the two walked into Earth monitoring.

“Anything to report?” Jaha asked. 

Sinclair shook his head. “Nothing we can do will save the Ark”

“Have you tried not saving it?” Elanor interjected. Heads turned to her as she said that. 

“What is this about?” Abby asked.

Elanor glanced at the chancellor, who nodded his head in approval. “It about going to Earth”

With that comment, Elanor received scowls and confused looks. The chancellor noticed and stepped in for her. 

“We have two options. Die in space, or probably die trying to get to Earth” 

Marcus huffed. “We have no more Exodus ships”

“You’re wrong” Elanor said, receiving a unhappy look from her father. “We have the Ark”

The adults in the room looked around in a mix of confusion and amazement, realizing the plan that Elanor was proposing.

Turning to Sinclair, Elanor gained confidence. “What would happen if we used the use the thrusters that keep the Ark in orbit to propel us into Earth’s atmosphere instead?”

Sinclair stared at her like she was crazy. 

“Please, just trust me”

He sighed. “The Ark would break apart, first into the original twelve stations, then further as the violence intensified. 95% of the structures would explode on the way down”

Jaha pulled out the blueprint of the Ark and placed it in front of Sinclair. “Do you think you could pinpoint the 5% that wouldn’t?’’

Sinclair scoffed, staring at him in utter disbelief. Others glanced back and forth to one another. 

Eventually, Marcus spoke up. “Are we really going to do this? Bring the Ark to the ground?”

“Do you have a better idea?” Jaha responded. Marcus shook his head. Sinclair turned to work. Abby and Jaha glance at each other. “What do you say Abby? Are you ready to see your daughter again?”

Abby nodded. Making eye contact with Elanor, she smiled.

Marcus came over to his daughter. “Can I talk to you?”

Elanor nodded and led him out into the hall. In the hallway, Marcus took a deep breath. 

“Did you come up with this plan?”

“Sort of. I came up with the idea and Jaha helped me form it into a cohesive plan”

“It’s a good plan. Risky, but a good plan”

“It's better than any plan you came up with”

“Excuse me, young lady. At least I was looking”

“I’m sorry about what I said earlier, about you being selfish for not wanting to spend time with me”

“You were right, though. I was trying to save the Ark to save the person that I love”

“And all of humanity?”

“Humanity isn’t as important to me as you are”

“Now that's selfish” Elanor giggled. “I guess it's all good. I mean, without your selfishness, I wouldn’t have come up with this plan and have become the savior of the human race”

“I wouldn’t say that yet. Your plan still hasn’t been put into action”

“Well, I don’t see a line of saviors coming with their plans, do you? Just me”

“And Jaha” Marcus smiled as his daughter laughed. “Seriously, I’m proud of you Nellie”

“Thank you”


	11. Ten

Elanor’s plan was not a very good plan, but it was the only plan proposed to save the Ark. So it was chosen.

The people of the Ark were terrified by the plan. Everyone knew that not all the stations would survive re-entry. Some might not survive the crash landing planned for the stations when they got to Earth. 4 stations were deemed too damaged to survive at all, so they were out as options. That left the survivors of the Ark with 8 choices. 

Elanor really didn’t have a choice of the station. Her father, Abby, and Sinclair had all deemed Mecha station to be the safest station for the decent back to Earth. And there was logic behind their reasoning. Mecha station was smaller than most of the other stations and it had more reinforcements around the outside. Elanor wasn’t leaving her father’s side, so they were both going to Earth on Mecha station. Or dying on it.

As Sinclair closed the door, Marcus Kane wrapped his arm around his daughter. Elanor was wedged between Abby and her father. The two had silently agreed that she would go in the middle, hoping to provide a cushion between Elanor and anything that may harm her. 

Over the intercom, each station checked in, preparing to leave the Ark, and space, for good.

“Hydra station is good to go”

“Mecha station is good to go”

“Factory station is good to go”

“Farm station is good to go”

“Hydro station is good to go”

“Arrow station is good to go”

“Power station is good to go”

“Alpha station is good to go”

“Chancellor Jaha, all stations are good to go” Sinclair’s voice was calm, but Elanor could see his nervousness from across the room. “We are prepared for launch”

“In peace, may you leave this shore,” the chancellor began the goodbye address customary on the Ark. Elanor pressed into her father’s side, remembering bitterly the last time she had heard these words spoken. She made sure that her grandmother’s wish would be fulfilled, storing the tree securely in the cargo hold. “In love may you find the next. Safe passage on our travels, until our final journey to the ground. May we meet again”

The chancellor’s voice was followed by a chorus of softer voices.

“May we meet again”

The chancellor went to the private channel and Elanor braced herself against the coming jolt as the Ark lurched towards Earth.

“Initiating GoSci separation in 5...4...3...2...1...Seperate”

Nothing happened. 

A handful of whispers passed through the room, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Sir, remote detonation failed. We have a negative for GoSci separation, Negative for launch”

Jaha must have said something as Sinclair pressed more buttons and tried to fix the problem. 

“Not from here, sir, no. Someone will have to launch manually”

Beside her, Elanor’s father unbuckled himself and stood up. Elanor reached for his hand.

“What are you doing?”

“Somebody has to stay behind, Nellie”

Abby leaned towards Sinclair.

“There has to be another way”

“I can go back and fix it, but it will take time. We’ll miss the landing window for the Eastern United States. We won’t land anywhere near the 100”

“Then we’ll wait ‘til it comes back around”

Sinclair shook his head. “We’ll be out of air by then”

Marcus cupped his daughter’s cheek, then turned towards Abby. “Salvation comes at a price”

Marcus stood up without glancing back and started towards the door. Tears streamed down Elanor’s face as she reached out for his hand. He glanced at her one last time.

“You’re going to Earth”

Marcus pulled away, shaking the hands of people as he passed. Elanor sat stiff, letting soft sobs escape. Eventually, Elanor mustered up the courage to speak.

“How much air will he have?”

“A week. Two weeks at most” Sinclair replied softly. Elanor nodded. Abby grabbed her hand.

In the silence of the room, a loud noise and a lurch interrupted the somber moment. People shrieked and gasped.

“We’re away!” Sinclair said. “We’ve launched!”

“How?” Abby asked.

The chancellor’s voice came over the speakers.

“Godspeed, my friends. Godspeed”

Next to Elanor, Abby switched to a private channel in hopes to talk to Jaha. 

Marcus Kane unsteadily made his way back to his seat, supported by the people around him. He pulled himself down next to his daughter and buckled himself back in. The moment he was secure, he wrapped his arms around his daughter protectively. They sat like this for quite some time as the Ark drifted back towards Earth. Elanor suddenly lifted her head. 

“I thought you said you’re selfish, that you’d put the person you love before humanity no matter what” Elanor’s tone was bitter and full of betrayal. 

“I am. There was no way I was going to let you die up here. You were going to make it to the ground if I had anything to say about it” Marcus said. Elanor pressed her head back into her father’s chest as the movement of the station got more violent.

“We’re entering the atmosphere’’ Sinclair announced. The violent shake of the station increased along with loud booms as the stations broke apart outside. Elanor’s breathing quickened, bracing for whatever came next. After minutes of shaking and booms and people screaming, the station lurched quickly, throwing a handful of unsecured items throughout the space. Elanor heard Abby grunt beside her and pulled away from her father. 

“Are you okay?” Elanor asked, checking Abby for any injuries. Abby nodded. She had a small scrape above her eye, but other than that she appeared to be fine.

“It's not this part you should be worried about. It's the landing” Abby whispered. 

Marcus pulled his daughter back towards him. From across the room, Sinclair pressed buttons on his control device.

“Brace for landing” He yelled.

He had barely gotten the sentence out when the ship hit the ground. People around the room cried out, partially in pain and partially in shock. After the initial hit, the ship skidded across the ground. It splashed down into a body of water and finally came to a stop.

For a few moments there was silence in the room. People were still in shock from what they had just gone through. 

“Did we make it?” A man called out from the other side of the room. 

“I think so,” Sinclair replied, unbuckling his harness and slowly standing up. 

Abby did the same. She made her way to the ladder that led to the service hatch that would let them out. Marcus followed her. Elanor unbuckled herself, but didn’t move. The realness over everything that she had been through in the last few hours settled over her. It was overwhelming and Elanor started to cry.

Someone sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you hurt?” Sinclair’s voice was soft and sympathetic, something Elanor had never really heard from him. She shook her head.

“We made it to Earth. I bet that is really overwhelming right now. But I need you to be strong” Sinclair slid his hand down her shoulder and began to rub gentle circles on her back. “The next few days are going to be a test of how well we can hold ourselves together. And as much as many of the people here don’t, or won't, admit it, they look up to you. For now, we need you to be strong. The moment that we’re safe, feel free to let all the emotions out”

Elanor nodded, wiping the tears away from her eyes. The hatch in the roof was open and people were climbing out. 

“I’m going to wait until everyone’s out, if you want to wait with me” Sinclair offered. Elanor smiled. Sinclair was friendly and kind, no matter the situation. He nodded to her and walked off to take care of something that had come up on the other side of the room. Elanor moved around the room, guiding people up the ladder as far as she could. Every once in a while, she would be called away to help someone who had gotten mildly injured during the landing. 

Once the room was cleared, she met Sinclair at the bottom of the ladder. He stepped back and motioned for her to go ahead. Elanor started up the ladder, nervously anticipating what the Earth would look like when she was outside.

At the top of the ladder, her father pulled her up out of the hatch before calling down for Sinclair. Elanor stood and looked around.

The sun was so bright that Elanor could barely see. It was way brighter than anything she had ever seen on the Ark. On all but one side of the station, water covered the land for quite some distance. A lake, she thought, placing the word for the landscape. A ways away, trees covered the flat area around the lake, climbing up and over the nearby mountains. Off in the distance, smoke rose from wishing the trees.

There were only two reasons for the smoke. Another station or the 100’s camp. 

“Listen up!” Her father’s voice called out, gathering the people around him. “We’re heading towards that plume of smoke off in the distance. We need to see what it is. It could be another station, in which they will need our help. While we move, we need quiet. We don’t know who or what else is in these woods. Guards, spread out around the people. Don’t fall behind!”

Elanor’s father pushed to the head of the group and led them off into the unknown.


	12. Eleven

When teachers on the Ark had talked about hiking on Earth, they made it sound fun and exciting.

Elanor, surprisingly, agreed with them. 

Many people in the herd of survivors would not agree with her. While she jumped over things and hopped from rock to rock with childish energy, many of the other survivors trudged with little energy. People often complained about how difficult the walk through the forest was. Elanor couldn’t blame them. There was nothing like this on the Ark. There, the walkways were smooth and cramped. On Earth, the terrain was uneven and the sky stretched out for miles above their heads.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elanor could see her father watching her intently. Marcus Kane could sense that the other survivors were not filled with as much energy as his 14 year old daughter was. During one stop, he pulled her aside. 

“Elanor” he scolded, trying to be stern. 

“What?” She asked in response, seemingly oblivious to the issue with her jumping and dashing. 

“I appreciate your energy, but there are others who do not” Marcus watched his daughter’s face fall. “Save it for another time, or channel it through something else”

“Okay”

Marcus left his daughter and turned back to the group. “We should get moving. We’re almost there. I want everyone on high alert”

The group made their way to their feet, continuing slowly into the forest. After about twenty minutes of walking, Marcus stopped the group.

“I hear something up ahead. Jacobs, Holland, you two are with me. Everyone else, stay back”

Marcus and the two guards set off towards the noise. The rest of the group relaxed, putting their stuff down and sitting down. The guards around the outside of the group seemed agitated. 

Abby came over to Elanor, who was sitting towards the outside of the group. 

“We need to find a source of water” Abby said, sitting down next to Elanor. “There’s a couple people in the early stages of dehydration. And food, too. Our rations won’t last long”

“I know,” Elanor said. “Based off of what the hundred said, there’s a stream near their camp. If we can get there, we solve our water problem”

“But we don’t know when we’ll get to their camp” Abby said. Her voice cracked ever so slightly. The concern and anxiety that had built up over the last few weeks came out in her eyes as they glanced desperately at Elanor. “We don’t even know if their alive”

“Hey,” Elanor’s voice softened, “they’re alive and they’re out there somewhere”

“We don’t know that,” Abby said.

A loud crack interrupted their conversation.

“Is that…..?” Elanor asked.

“A gunshot” Abby answered. The guards around the group began corralling inwards and slowly herding the group towards the place where the gunshot had come from. They moved through the forest slowly, the guards all moving to the front of the group.

Moments later, a sharp whistle pierced the air. 

“It’s the signal!” A guard shouted. The group stepped up into a clearing where a few kids stood, along with a dead grounder and the advance group of guards. Abby dashed towards the kids in the clearing. Elanor was right behind her. 

“Sit!” Abby began assessing the two boys.

“I’m fine,” the blood covered boy demanded. Elanor recognized him vaguely. “We have to get back to the dropship”

“Bellamy, wait!” The blood covered boy who had been heading off towards the dropship spun around. Elanor took a cautious step towards him. “You’re Bellamy, right?”

“How do you know my name?” Bellamy glared at her.

“Clarke told me,” Elanor said cautiously, “when she was setting somebody’s broken ankle. You were there in the background. I’m Elanor, the girl who helped her”

Bellamy considered her, then nodded in acknowledgment. He turned to the other boy and the two of them headed off towards the direction of the dropship. Abby stopped them.

“Where’s Clarke? Is she alright?” Abby asked. 

“She was when we left” the boy in the blue jacket responded. “We’ll take you to her”

Marcus Kane stepped out in front of him.

“Wait, slow down” he stopped them, putting a hand out. He turned back to Sinclair. “Sinclair, we’re splitting up. One guard detail comes with me to the dropship. Everyone else here goes with you to Alpha station. We have the coordinates, we’ll follow as soon as we can”

“Yes sir” 

Abby pulled Elanor aside. 

“Abby….”

“Don’t. I need you to go with them to Alpha station. Jackson is there he can help you take care of the injured” Abby grabbed Elanor’s hands. “Tell him I’ll be there soon”

“I was going to say be careful”

With that, the two parted ways. Elanor took up the lead of the group, falling into place next to Sinclair. Finding out that Alpha station had made it to the ground had been a huge relief to those who had been on Mecha station. They weren’t alone on the ground, there were others from the Ark who were there with them.

The trip to Alpha station was taken at a much slower pace than the trip from Mecha station towards the smoke. It had been decided that the two groups would make Alpha station home partially because the group from Mecha station was fairly close and because Alpha station was in much better shape then Mecha station. 

The slower pace of the trip to Alpha station allowed Elanor to take in the sights and sounds of the forest. The trees were a multitude of different shades of green and brown. Each tree had its own iconic look. It had all been so interesting and fun until Elanor realized that none of the trees around her looked anything like the small tree gently wedged in her backpack.

When the group made it to Alpha station, they were met with makeshift gates, familiar faces, and dozens of guards with guns. Once it had been confirmed the group was also from the Ark, the reception to the group from Mecha improved greatly. A before Elanor realized what was happening, Jackson had wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Elanor, it's good to see you” Jackson said.

“It's good to see you too”

Jackson pulled away, searching the crowd for Abby. 

“Where’s Abby? She was on Mecha with you”

“She’s fine Jackson. She and my father took a guard detail to go find the dropship. There coming right back”

Jackson looked worried, but dismissed it once he glanced over the crowd.

“Any injured among the survivors from mecha station?”

“A few minor injuries, but we came away mostly unharmed. Mecha landed in a lake, which softened the impact”

“You were lucky. Alpha station skidded and bounced across the whole valley before landing here. We had a couple people injured, nothing major though”

“Anyone else from medical make it to Earth?” 

“There was one doctor, three nurses, and an apprentice doctor who made it, if we include the people from Mecha station”

“Do you need my help in medical?” Elanor asked. Jackson nodded, leading her to the makeshift medical center that consisted of a tent, an operating/examination table, and a handful of chairs and cots that had been scavenged from the debris of Alpha station. 

“We need to clean up everything here. It would be nice if you could organize the supplies we can use and salvage from the supplies we cannot use” Jackson pointed to a pile of mixed supplies.

Elanor groaned and set to work. On the Ark, everything had a place, which made supply inventory and organization a mundane and simple task. On the ground, organizing and inventory became a much harder process. Elanor was faced with the challenge of not only organizing the supplies but finding a home for the supplies where they would remain organized. Elanor salvaged a handful of metal boxes, along with some tape and a marker, to create a labeled, organized home for each type of item she found. 

She didn’t know how long she had been sorting, organizing, and labeling when Sinclair came in. He was holding a little boy by the hand.

“I found a child,” Sinclair said, evidently clear that he had no idea what to do with a child.

“Okay…” Elanor responded, confused. “Is he hurt?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so” Sinclair glanced at the child.

“What do you want me to do with him?” Elanor stared at Sinclair. 

Sinclair shrugged. “Watch over him”

“Isn’t that a job for his parents?”

“They’re not here. He’s an orphan, I think”

“Oh” Elanor said. She was still kind of lost. “So you want me to look after him?”

“I’m really busy right now,” Sinclair said guiltily, “and I didn’t know who else to ask”

Elanor softened. “I guess. He can sit over there”

Sinclair led the boy over to a seat that had been covered in blankets. Elanor hadn’t quite been sure of what to do with all the blankets that had been scattered across the room and within the pile, so she had folded them sloppily and placed them on a seat pushed off against the back wall of the section of the tent. The little boy curled up in the blankets, falling asleep. Elanor returned to sorting supplies, occasionally glancing back to check on him. As she finished sorting and organizing, she stood up and woke the boy up.

“Come on buddy. I have to go somewhere and I don’t really want to leave you alone” The little boy wrapped his arms sleepily around her neck and Elanor picked him up, carrying him into the main section of the medical tent. There she located Jackson, who was finishing a conversation with a patient. He spotted her and excused himself.

“I’m done sorting. I created boxes for everything and I took inventory, so we know how much we have of everything”

“When did you get a child?” Jackson asked, referring to the boy Elanor was carrying, who had fallen asleep.

“Oh, yeah. Sinclair brought him in” Elanor said. “Neither of us really knew what to do with a child, but he doesn’t have any family that we know of ”

“Give him to Nurse MacKenzie. He’s really good at dealing with children” Sinclair waved the nurse over. When he saw the boy, Nurse MacKenzie’s face lit up. He took the boy and went off to another part of the tent. Jackson turned to Elanor to say something when there was a commotion outside.

The team who had gone to the dropship were back.


	13. Twelve

The entire camp gathered near the front gates as the team who had gone to get the 100 came back into the camp. Everyone had expected them to come back with all the kids from the dropship. Instead, the guards brought back four.

Elanor recognized Bellamy and the boy in the blue jacket, but the other two were new to her. The boy in the blue jacket was holding the hand of a girl on a stretcher. The new boy of the group was being helped along by a guard.

Jackson rushed past her and wrapped Abby in a hug. After savoring the tender moment for a brief second, Abby turned to medical mode.

“Treat the critically wounded first. Everyone else can wait”

Jackson turned to the yards carrying the girl on the stretcher and directed them towards the medical tent. Elanor rushed up to Abby.

“Clarke?”

Abby shook her head. 

“Oh. Abby, I’m so sorry” Elanor’s face fell. “Is there anything I can do?”

“They’re taking Bellamy to lockup. I don’t have the time to go over and treat his wounds. I need you to take care of it. Please” 

Elanor nodded, slightly confused. 

“I thought the chancellor pardoned Bellamy of his crimes. Why are they taking him to lockup?”

“He lost his temper and beat up Murphy”

“Is Murphy the boy in the blue jacket or the slightly creepy guy?”

“The slightly creepy one” Abby said. “The other boy is Finn”

“And the girl?” Elanor asked.

“Raven Reyes”

“The mechanic you sent down to Earth? The one who radioed the Ark?”

“Yes, Elanor” Abby sighed. “ I know you have a lot of questions, but they can wait. Right now, I need to take care of my patients”

Abby turned off to a different part of the medical tent, going off to help a patient. Elanor turned to pick up some supplies and headed over to lockup. There, a guard stopped her before letting her in.

“We’ll be watching you and listening in. We’ve got your back in case the prisoner tries to hurt you”

“Its okay, I can handle myself”

Elanor nodded at the guard and he opened the door for her. As Elanor walked into lockup, Bellamy scrambled to his feet, taking a step towards her. The guard behind Elanor lifted his weapon and Bellamy took scared steps backwards. 

“It's alright,” Elanor turned to the guard. “Bellamy won’t hurt me, will he?”

Bellamy shook his head. The guard lowered his weapon, stepping back to the door but keeping his eyes locked on Bellamy. Elanor approached Bellamy, pulling up a chair and setting her supplies down on it. Bellamy sat down across from her.

“Clarke?” Bellamy asked as Elanor began to clean his wounds.

“Nothing new. They’re sending a search team out to look for them” Elanor gently wiped the blood off his face, examining the wounds underneath. Bellamy’s injuries weren’t bad, mostly just shallow cuts and bruises.

“I should be out there, searching for the others. I know these woods” Bellamy begged her. Elanor smiled softly.

“I agree with you, Bellamy, but it’s not my decision. My father is a stickler for the rules. He’ll only send trained guards” Elanor said.

“Your father?” Bellamy put the pieces together. Elanor sighed, knowing what Bellamy was about to say. “You’re Elanor Kane. You’re Marcus Kane’s daughter. Elanor, the things he did on the Ark. He’s a bad person”

“I could say the same about you, Bellamy” Elanor said bitterly. “We can’t pick our families, Bellamy. And he’s the only family I’ve got”

“What happened to your mother?” Bellamy asked, his tone softening. Elanor was quiet for a few moments, focusing on Bellamy's wounds rather than his words. “Its okay, I know how hard it is to lose a parent”

Elanor sighed. “She died when I was little. I don’t remember anything about her”

“Elanor, I’m so sorry” Bellamy smiled sympathetically. “I shouldn’t have asked”

There was a moment of silence as Elanor cleaned a particularly nasty cut. Bellamy hissed as she wiped antiseptic on the cut.

“You have a sister, right? Your mom hid her under the floor for 16 years”

“Yeah” Bellamy nodded. “Octavia”

“She must be really special to you,” Elanor said. “Do you have any idea where she might be? Was she with the others?”

“No, a grounder named Lincoln took her. She was hurt” Bellamy said longingly. 

“So, she’s safe?”

“I think so,” Bellamy responded. Elanor finished, packing up the supplies she had brought. “Elanor, don’t say anything about Lincoln. Please”

Elanor smiled at him. 

“Who’s Lincoln?” She joked. Bellamy chuckled in response.

The doors behind Elanor opened and a few guards, along with her father, came in. Elanor stepped away from Bellamy, nodding nervously to her father.

Marcus considered his daughter. “Is your job here all done?”

Elanor nodded, glancing over to Bellamy.

“Good. Report back to Abby, she most likely needs some help”

Elanor glanced back to Bellamy one last time before scurrying out the door. She trekked back to the medical tent. Ducking inside, she spotted Abby.

“How’s Bellamy?”

“He’s fine. Mostly just scrapes and bruises,” Elanor said casually as she put her supplies away. “He is eager to get out of lockup. He wants to be out there, searching for his friends”

“And what do you think about him?”

“I think he’s brave to want to help his friends. And I understand why he wants to be out there searching. He really cares about them, especially Clarke. But I also think that he occasionally thinks with his heart before his head, which in this situation is a good thing. He’ll make a good leader one day”

“If your father ever lets him out of lockup”

“He will. Dad’s not stupid. He sees the same things I do in Bellamy. It will just take him a little longer to realize that it may be a good thing” Elanor turned to Abby, who seemed exhausted. “How’s Raven?”

“Not as good as I’d hoped she was” Abby sighed. “The bulle is still shifting inside of her, which is causing more pain. It’s stabilized for now, but I don’t know if it will hold. And if it does, we have two options: take is out, and risk killing Raven during the surgery, or leave it in, and she will live but never walk again”

“How are you going to decide what to do?”

“When she wakes up, I’m going to let her choose”

Outside the tent, three gunshots rang out at the edge of camp. Abby dashed out with Elanor right behind her. Most of the guards were aiming out into the forest.

A guy with a gun was pointing out into the forest, claiming that he had seen something in the woods. Everyone seemed on edge. Elanor watched her father push to the front of the group, addressing the man, and then the crowd. Abby said something to Marcus and the guards moved into the woods to search. The whole time Elanor watched from a distance. As the guards marched away, Abby came back to Elanor.

“I need you to get my medical kit from the tent”

Elanor nodded and ran off to the tent. As she entered the tent, Jackson grabbed her arm.

“Hey, what's going on?” Jackson asked. “Did they find somebody? Is it one of the kids?”

“I don’t know,” Elanor said, searching for Abby’s kit.

“What happened?”

“Some guy thought he saw movement, so he shot into the woods” Elanor spotted Abby’s kit. “They sent guards into the woods to search for what made the movement. Abby needs me to bring her the kit. I have to go”

Jackson followed as Elanor rushed back out to Abby. Abby filled Jackson in as they searched the tree line. After a few minutes, most of the guards emerged from the tree line uninjured. Abby and Jackson looked relieved, heading back into the medical tent to decide what was going to happen with Raven.


	14. Thirteen

Since the events of the morning, tension in the camp had skyrocketed.

Raven had decided to go through with the surgery, even without anesthetic. Her screaming had put the camp even more on edge. And when screams had responded, the tension spiked severely. The cherry on top of the highly stressful day had been the return of the teams who had gone out to search for the sound. They returned with three bodies, one of which was still barely alive. Jackson had been called away from Raven’s surgery to save the man, but all efforts to save him failed. 

The day had gotten to Elanor and she was in a bad mood. The past few days had been the hardest times of her life and she just wanted it to go away. She found an escape when Abby came to her.

“Your father isn’t sending out the search team”

“I know,” Elanor said, “he told me earlier”

“He can’t just leave the kids out there. They could be in danger”

“I know, Abby. And I tried to change his mind, but he won't budge” 

“I need you to talk to Bellamy for me”

“What?” Elanor said, confused. “Bellamy is locked up in a cell. There’s not much he can do”

“I have a plan to break him out. Finn is in and so are the other kids. They want to search for the others, but they will only do it if Bellamy goes with them” Abby’s eyes looked pleading. “Just tell him to be ready. It’s happening tonight”

“Okay. But the guards aren’t just going to let me in”

“Tell them you are going to check on Murphy” Abby said, handing her a basic medical kit. Elanor nodded, heading off to lockup. When she got there, the guard stopped her.

“Ma’am, no one can go in” 

Elanor lifted up the medical bag. “I need to check on one of the prisoners, Murphy. Doctor Griffin sent me”

The guard nodded suspiciously. He opened up the doors and stepped in with Elanor. She looked at him.

“Its okay, I can take care of this by myself”

“Ma’am, I just don’t want you to get hurt”

“They’re tied up. What are they going to do, lick me?” Elanor snapped. The guard sized her up, seeing if it was worth the argument. He glanced from the boys and back to Elanor before leaving the room. Elanor waited until the door was shut to turn to the boys. 

“Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past Murphy to try to lick you,” Bellamy scoffed.

“So, the doctor sent you?” Murphy asked dryly. Elanor ignored him, moving to Bellamy.

“Clarke?” Bellamy’s voice was desperate. 

“No. My father never sent the search team out”

“You’re Kane’s daughter?” Murphy said with surprise and a hint of offense Elanor nodded. Murphy groaned from the other side of the room. “Then why are you helping us?”

“Because sending you down here was a mistake. The least that I can do to help fix it is to try to help you find your friends”

“So what's the plan?” Bellamy’s tone was serious. “Are you going to convince your father to let us go?”

“No. I've tried that” Elanor responded. The doors slid open, interrupting the moment. The guard poked his head in. Elanor glared at him. “Can I help you?”

“No, I just came in to make sure you are okay”

“I’m fine,” Elanor snapped. “Your job’s done in here”

“Oh, okay.” The guard stepped sadly back into the hallway and the doors slid shut.

Elanor turned back to Bellamy.

“Your friends are coming to break you out tonight. I don’t know anything other than that” Elanor locked eyes with Bellamy. “Promise me you’ll do whatever you can to bring Clarke home”

“I promise,” Bellamy said sincerely. “Were you two close, on the Ark?”

“When we were little” Elanor smiled fondly. “I’m asking for Abby’s sake, if you were wondering. It's been really hard on her the last few weeks, not having Clarke around”

“Clarke means a lot to all of us. She essentially kept us alive on the ground,” Bellamy’s pained smile was enough to tell Elanor how much Clarke meant to him. “How Raven? We heard her screaming earlier, and then... she just stopped ” 

“She’s okay. Finn is with her now. She made it through the surgery somehow. We won’t know what condition she’s in for a little while longer. But don’t worry, she’ll be back on her feet in no time”

Bellamy looked hopeful. It had been rough for everyone recently and some good news was a welcome change. 

“You should go.” Bellamy said. “I don’t want your father to suspect anything”

Murphy scoffed. “Why should you care about her, Bellamy?”

“Shut up, Murphy” Bellamy snapped. Bellamy turned back Elanor. “I promise you, we will find Clarke and the others”

“Be safe” Elanor left a final soft smile and left. On her way back to medical, somebody grabbed her arm.

“Sinclair! You scared me”

Sinclair smiled. “I just wanted to check on Raven. Abby hasn’t let me see her yet”

“She’s okay,” Elanor said. “She’s resting right now. Abby won’t know the full extent of the damage until she has the chance to examine her properly”

“Damage?”

“There’s most likely some nerve damage in her legs. It may heal in time, but hopefully it is most likely permanent” 

“If I have a moment of free time, can I go see her?”

“Of course. It may be helpful to see a friendly face that’s not a doctor. Or Finn, for that matter”

“I’ll drop by later.” Sinclair turned down a hallway and out of sight. Elanor left the station and went out into the sunlight. The bad mood of the camp had subsided considerably, but it was still ever present. Elanor felt it looming over the people, evident in the way they spoke and acted.

Passing through the camp, Elanor made it to the medical tent. Ducking inside she found it nearly empty. She plopped the bag of supplies down with a thunk.

“Hey”

Elanor wheeled around surprised. “Raven. Did I wake you?” 

“No” Raven wiggles up to a sitting position. “Any news about Clarke?”

“No” Elanor sighed. “I don’t know what is going to happen. It’s slightly scary, you know, not being in control of your fate”

“Yeah, I know what that’s like,” Raven responded. 

“How are you feeling?” Elanor asked. 

“Better, I’m starting to feel a little better and regain feeling in my legs” 

“That’s good,” Elanor smiled. 

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments.

“Sinclair is very fond of you,” Elanor said to Raven. “I spent some time with him, when I was monitoring the radio, and he talked all about you”

“What did he say?”

“He just talked about how smart you are,” Elanor smiled. “He thinks you are the smartest person ever”

“Abby talks about you in a similar way” 

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Raven said. “She’s proud of you”

“She doesn’t share that with me” 

The tent flaps opened and Elanor’s father walked in. 

“Elanor, can we talk?” He nodded out of the tent. 

“Of course. I’ll be there in a moment” Elanor turned back to Raven and lowered her voice. “I have to go. Tonight, the others from the dropship are going out to find the rest of the kids who are out there. They’ll find Clarke”

“What?” 

“I’m sorry, I have to go” Elanor backed out of the tent. Outside, Marcus was waiting for his daughter. He led her through the camp to the room in the Ark that the two of them had made home. 

“One of the guards reported that you went in to see the prisoners today. Do you care to explain?” Marcus asked sternly.

“Abby sent me to check on the prisoners. Murphy had some bad cuts on him and Bellamy’s wounds were at a high chance of being infected”

“And why didn’t Abby send Jackson to check on them like she had every other time?”

“He was busy”

“And did you talk to the prisoners?”

“A little. Mostly just discussing their injuries. Bellamy brought up Clarke. He’s worried about her”

“Did they tell you anything helpful? Escape plans? Information about the grounders?”

“No,” Elanor said without hesitation. “We only talked about injuries. And Clarke”

“So why did the guard who was guarding the prisoners tell me that you snapped at him when he came in to check on you?” Marcus asked, studying his daughter. “He said you were in the middle of a conversation with Bellamy and looked like you were hiding something. Were you?”

Elanor sighed. “Look, I was still on edge from earlier and I was in a bad mood. The guard walked in at a bad moment and he was lingering, so I snapped at him. I didn’t mean it in an aggressive way and I wasn’t hiding anything”

“And you were talking with Bellamy?” 

“Yes. He was telling me how much Clarke meant to him. To all of them.” Elanor said. “She saved their lives more times than Bellamy could count. She means a lot to him”

Marcus huffed.

“Elanor, you know that I want to rescue Clarke. I really do. But as Chancellor, I have to think about the good of the camp. And we don't have the manpower to send out search teams right now”

“But…”

“Elanor, enough!” Marcus shouted. “There’s nothing more I can do”

“Dad, please!”

“From now on, you will have no more contact with the prisoners. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, father. I do”


	15. Fourteen

That night, when Elanor went to bed, her sleep was plagued by nightmares. 

Scenes floated through her head, both real and imaginary. She saw moments from the Ark that terrorized her. Abby in the airlock, about to be floated. The panicked moments after Abby had revealed the Culling. People grabbing her, trying to take her away from her father. The explosion on Unity Day. Her grandmother’s dead body among the rubble. Diana Sydney, closing the doors, separating her from her father. Running out of air. The trip down to Earth in a spaceship not meant to survive reentry of Earth’s atmosphere.

The scenes floating through her head landed on the Chancellor Jaha’s dead body on the Ark. His lips and skin were tinted blue, signs of a death caused by hypoxia. Elanor bent down, feeling for a pulse. The moment that she touched him, the chancellor shot up with a gasp. Elanor scrambled back in surprise.

“Chancellor Jaha…”

“It's your fault.”

“What?”

“It's your fault that I’m up here. Alone. Dying”

“I didn’t…”

“You are the one who came up with the plan. You convinced me that it would work. You were the one that caused the death of all those other stations”

“We don’t know…”

“But you do, Elanor. You killed them. Other people may blame me and your father for the culling, for all the people who died there. But you are the true killer. You killed so many of the survivors. You destroyed the human race”

Elanor shook her head, stumbling away from the chancellor. “No. I didn’t...”

“You deserve to die”

Elanor woke up with a start, sitting straight up in her bed. She gasped for air, searching for a source of light . She felt hands on her shoulders and a soft voice shushing her. Elanor broke down into tears. The arms wrapped around her, pulling her towards their chest.

“Elanor, it’s okay. I’m right here”

“Dad”

“I’m right here sweetheart”

“Was it my fault?”

Marcus sat silent for a few moments. 

“What do you mean?”

“Chancellor Jaha, all those other people from the Ark, were those deaths my fault?”

Marcus wrapped his daughter tighter in his arms. 

“Elanor. That’s not your fault. You shouldn’t be blaming yourself for all those deaths”

“But they were my fault”

“You can’t think that way. Think about all the lives that you saved. If you hadn’t come up with a plan, everyone would have died. You saved lives”

“Not all of them”

Marcus pulled his daughter closer. Someone knocked on the door.

“Chancellor, is everything alright?” Sinclair’s voice came through the door. “I heard a scream”

“Everything is alright. It was just a nightmare”

A second, more aggressive knock ran out moments later. 

“Sir, the prisoners are gone” Major Byrne shouted through the door. Marcus kissed his daughter on the head.

“I have to go Elanor” Marcus stroked his daughter’s hair. “Are you going to be okay?”

Elanor sniffed, wiping her face. “I’ll be okay”

“You should stay with someone. Should I ask Sinclair…?” 

“No, I’ll find Abby” Elanor said. “Go”

“We’ll talk about your nightmares later” Marcus left. 

Elanor pulled on shoes and a coat, heading down to the medical center. When she got there, she found Abby anxiously doing paperwork.

Elanor laid a gentle hand on Abby’s shoulder and Abby jumped. 

“Elanor” Abby said, surprised. “I was afraid you were someone else”

“Did Bellamy and friends make it out?”

“Yes”

“That’s good” Elanor sat down a few feet away. Abby looked her over for a moment.

“Are you okay? You have puffy eyes, a runny nose, and watery eyes. Are you sick?”

Elanor shook her head. Abby moved beside her, studying her face. 

“Elanor, what happened?” 

“Nightmares”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Abby stroked her hair. Elanor shook her head. “That’s okay. We can talk about it when you feel ready”

————————

Marcus found his daughter asleep on a bed in the medical center 3 hours after leaving to deal with the missing prisoners. Jackson had relieved Abby in the medical center, sending her off to her own interests. 

“Dr. Jackson”

Jackson spun to face Marcus.

“Chancellor, sir. If you’re looking for Dr. Griffin”

“I’m not looking for Abby. I’m looking for my daughter” Marcus shook his daughter awake. Elanor stretched groggily. 

“Dad?”

“Elanor, get up. Sinclair needs you”

Elanor stood, collecting herself, and went to leave. Before she left, she peeked back. Her father and Jackson were in the middle of an intense conversation. Ducking out of the tent, Elanor made her way to engineering.

Entering the makeshift engineering bay, Elanor sought out Sinclair. He was tinkering with something.

“Hey,” Elanor said.

Sinclair looked up from his work. “Hey Elanor. Why are you here?”

“Dad said you needed help”

“I didn’t realize he would send you”

“Oh,” Elanor said awkwardly. “I can leave if you want me to”

“No!” Sinclair realized the implications of what he had just said. “No! Stay. I need the help”

Sinclair turned back to his work gesturing for Elanor to come over. She sat next to him. Every once in a while, Sinclair has her help, holding something or turning a screw. The silence mixed with the presence of another person was comforting as it was something neither of them had experienced in a while. 

A commotion by the main gate broke the comfortable silence. Even from inside,they could hear and see the comotion well. Elanor rushed to the window.

“What’s going on?” 

“It's a patrol. They brought back a prisoner” Elanor motioned Sinclair over to the window. The two stood next to each other, trying for a glance at the scene outside. 

A gunshot rang out and Elanor turned to Sinclair.

“Go” he said, motioning towards the door.

Elanor dashed out and down the halls until she reached the medical center. There, Abby and Jackson were working over a body.

“Abby, what can I do?” 

“Put pressure here” Elanor pressed down on where Abby had been pressing down. Underneath her, the guy squirmed weakly. Abby pushed Elanor’s hand off the wound. She and Jackson began to operate. Elanor stood off to the side, handing tools and doing what Abby asked of her. 

After almost ten minutes of operating, Abby stepped away. 

“We’re not going to be able to save him”

Jackson nodded, stepping away and going off to wash his hands.

Elanor approached the man. “I’ll stay with him”

Abby nodded, stepping away herself. The man on the table struggled for breath and whimpered sadly. Elanor stroked his hair, shushing him when he whimpered. Only moments after Abby and Jackson had stepped away, the man’s chest stopped moving. 

“Abby” 

Abby moved over and checked the body. She shook her head and Jackson pulled a sheet over the body. 

“Jackson, see if he has any family”

The rustling of the flaps of plastic that served as a makeshift door alerted them to someone coming in. 

“Ma’am, you need to come with us,” Major Byrne said. She was flanked by a guard on each side. Jackson stepped forward defensively, but Abby put an arm out to shop him, shaking her head. Abby followed Major Byrne out of the tent with Jackson and Elanor following behind. A crowd had formed around the place where the punishment was going to be carried out. 

At the head of the crowd, nearest to the poles, stood Marcus. Abby came to a stop in front of him and the two exchanged words. 

“What are they going to do to her?” Jackson asked. 

“Shock lashing,” Elanor let out a shaky breath. “The chancellor gets to decide how many”

“The chancellor? As in your father?” 

Elanor nodded.

The two watched as the guards tied up Abby. Elanor grabbed Jackson’s hand, squeezing it desperately. As her father administered the first shock, Elanor buried her face into Jackson’s shoulder. Jackson wrapped his arms around her protectively, shielding her. After each shock, Elanor let out a small whimper.

By the ten shocks were over, Abby was a limp mess, held up by the restraints. As the crowd dispersed, Elanor rushed to Abby’s side, brushing past her father. She pulled the restraints off of Abby and pulled Abby’s arm across her shoulder. Abby was shaking. 

Jackson caught up to the two. “We should clean those wounds. They might get infected” 

Elanor supported a hobbling, weak Abby to the medical center. Abby sat on the table, shaking, as Jackson and Elanor rushed around her.

“Elanor, grab me a rag and a bucket of clean water” Jackson ordered. Elanor procured the items as Jackson pulled Abby’s shirt away from the sores. 

As Elanor delivered the requested items to Jackson, she glanced at the marks on Abby’s back. She felt guilty, as though it was her fault that Abby had been punished. 

“Focus, Elanor. I need your help” Jackson handed Elanor a gauze pad as he wiped down the sores on Abby’s back. The two worked in silence, the only sounds being the gasps coming from Abby as the tender sores on her back were touched. 

Elanor and Jackson were applying a soothing cream as Marcus came in, pushing cautiously through the flaps that served as a door. Jackson tensed and Elanor locked eyes with her father, staring him down.

Abby broke the tense silence.

“Thank you, Jackson” Abby turned to him, waving him away. Elanor stayed close to Abby’s side.

“Nellie, why don’t you get cleaned up?” Marcus suggested. “I’ll meet you in our room once I’m done with Abby”

Elanor glanced to Abby, who nodded her head supportively. Abby squeezed her hand, and Elanor ducked out of the tent.


	16. Fifteen

When Marcus walked into his quarters a while later, Elanor was waiting.

“What did you want to talk to Abby about?”

“Nellie….”

“Dad, what's going on?”

“Nothing” Marcus avoided eye contact with his daughter. “How are you feeling?”

“You’re avoiding the question”

“Nellie, now is not the time”

Elanor grabbed her father’s arm. “What's going on, dad? And before you try to change the subject, I’m just going to ask again”

“Ealnor,” Marcus sighed, considering his options. “I’m sending out a group to talk to the grounders”

“What changed your mind?”

“We have leverage now, the grounder prisoner. We’re hoping that he can help us”

Elanor sat down. “Who’s going?”

“The grounder, two guards, and me”

“What?” Elanor was surprised. “You? Is that really the best idea, dad? Who’s going to lead the camp?”

“It’s the best option, Nellie. This might be our best chance at recovering the kids. And Abby can take care of things here”

“Let me come with you”

“No, Elanor”

“Dad, please!”

“Enough!” Marcus raised his voice. He instantly regretted it. “I have to do things like this now. I'm the chancellor. I have a responsibility to our people to keep them safe”

“But you're also my dad. Why don’t I matter just as much?”

“I’m doing this for you, too” Marcus began gathering his belongings into a bag. His daughter grabbed his arm, pulling him into a hug. “You’ll have to understand that”

“I don’t want you to go” Elanor’s voice trembled. Marcus looked his daughter deep in the eyes. "I want you to be selfish again"

“I’ll be back before you know it” 

\-------------------------------

“Are you sure I can’t come?”

Elanor and Marcus stood in front of the gates, waiting for the rest of the group to meet up with them. 

“I’m sure. Besides, you’re needed here” Marcus smiled softly at his daughter. “Somebody has to keep Abby safe” 

“Yeah, right” Elanor scoffed. 

The two members of the guard who were going along pulled the grounder prisoner towards the front gates. Marcus stepped away from his daughter. 

“Be safe” Elanor squeezed his hand. He nodded. Elanor watched until the group was out of sight, disappearing into the trees. 

Elanor felt alone, standing out in the open in the middle of the camp. She wandered from group to group, trying to find a place where she could help. Having no luck, she found herself in the workshop where Sinclair was working. 

“Need help?” Elanor offered from the doorway. Sinclair looked up with a smile. 

“I’ll always take a spare pair of hands” Elanor moved over to beside Sinclair. 

“What are you working on?”

“I’m building something to electrify the fence we’ve built.” Sinclair pulled a piece from off to the side. “It’s almost done. Just one more piece and it’s finished”

Elanor nodded, quite lost in the process. 

“Here, screw this piece here into the socket and it will be done” Complying, Elanor screwed the piece into place. When she was done, Sinclair flicked a few switches and the machine began to hum. 

“Perfect” Sinclair said with a smile. “I’m afraid there’s not much that you can do from here, but I’ll let you know if you can help”

Sinclair walked out of the room with the machine in hand. 

Elanor sighed, exasperated. This is what she had been trying to avoid. For much of her life, she was useless, unskilled and unnecessary. There were a lot of empty rooms and brush-offs that had occurred, and it made Elanor feel useless and weak. 

For the rest of the day, Elanor wandered from task to task. People seemed uncertain of what to do with her. She knew it was not completely her fault. The transition from living in space to living on the ground had been harsh on everyone. Add in the circumstances that Elanor found herself in and the reactions to her were severely mixed. Some looked at her with kindness, since they had never had a bad interaction with her. But others looked at her with contempt or disgust, which Elanor was used to since her father was not the most liked person on the Ark. But it bothered Elanor most when people stared at her with pity. She knew why people pitied her, having lost her mother, grandmother, and now, her father. But it still bothered her. There were others who were in worse situations than she was, who needed the pity more than she did. But they got nothing.

\---------------------------------

Late in the afternoon, she had been called back to the machine shop. Initially, she had expected the summon from Sinclair, but it had actually come from an engineer named Wick. As she stepped into the machine shop, a blond guy pointed at her from across the room.

“Medical apprentice?” 

Elanor nodded. “Wick?”

Wick nodded his head, moving his pointed finger to Raven. “Tell her the brace might work”

“I don’t need your brace, Wick” Raven spat, hobbling away on her crutches.

“It might help,” Elanor said. Raven glared at her. “I mean, we won’t know until you try it”

“I’m fine!” Raven said. 

“Raven, she’s just trying to help,” Wick bargained.

“I don’t want your help. I don't need help!” Raven hobbled to the other side of the room, picking up some blueprints and looking them over.

Elanor softened. “Look, Raven, I can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. But, the brace might help. It will clear up your hands and may actually ease some of the pain. If you want, I can ask Abby what she thinks. She’ll probably have a better idea of what would happen”

Raven turned back sharply, ready to retort. 

“It's your choice, Raven”

“Thank you” Wick stepped between the two girls. “You can go if you want. I wouldn’t want to keep you from your work”

“Oh, it's alright. Not really doing anything important right now,” Elanor muttered awkwardly. “But, I’ll go….”

“Wait,” Wick shouted suddenly. “You’re Kane’s kid, right?”

Elanor hesitantly nodded, becoming defensive.

“I’ve heard about you”

Elanor swallowed, bracing for whatever Wick was about to say. 

“I’m sorry about your grandmother”

——————————-

That night, the camp was on edge. The beacon for the radio had been labeled a target and shot down. The guards had immediately rushed to their posts, and stayed there since. 

Late that night, there was a commotion outside of the gates and guardsmen rushed out. Elanor joined the cautious group forming near the gates. Abby stepped up next to her.

“What’s going on?”

Abby shook her head, trying for a better view of the group coming back in from the woods. “You would think they would tell me these things, since I’m chancellor and all” 

A guard rushed up to Abby.

“Ma’am, two grounders have been captured. They both seem to be injured. Both prisoners are being brought in now”

Abby turned to Elanor. “Go prep the medical center and get Jackson”

Elanor nodded, dashing away to the medical center. Ducking through the door, Elanor grabbed Jackson and filled him in on the few details that she knew. Moments later, guards burst into the tent, carrying two grounders in with them.

“We’ve got two patients, one in critical condition, likely dead. The other has unknown injuries. Both have gunshot wounds” Abby’s voice rang out, calling her team into action. “Jackson, take the patient in critical condition. See if there’s anything you can do for her”

“Yes, ma’am” Jackson ushered the guards through to a separate room.

“Elanor, I need saline and a pressure dressing”

Elanor grabbed the desired items, returning to Abby quickly. As they went to work, the patient grabbed at Elanor’s hand. She pulled back, surprised by the sudden contact.

“Elanor”

The voice was hoarse but unmistakable.

“Clarke?” 

Clarke winced as Abby put pressure onto the gunshot wound. Abby reached down to soothe her daughter. 

“Is she alright?” Major Byrne asked, stepping into the room.

“She will be” Abby said with a sour tone”

“Where have you been?” Byrne pushed towards Clarke. Abby glared at her.

Elanor stepped in between the two. “Maybe this should wait?”

“Mount Weather”

Clark attempted to sit up, only to fail with a pained groan.

“The grounders took you to Mount Weather?”

“We’re not doing this right now” Abby interjected. 

The others in the room took this as their cue to leave. Elanor took a few hesitant steps away, but Abby stopped her. 

“Go get some rest, sweetheart. It's been a long day"


	17. Sixteen

The next morning, after very little sleep, Elanor returned to the medical tent. Entering, she caught Clarke shifting and spotted Abby asleep by her daughter’s bedside.

“Good morning,” Elanor said softly, careful not to make any unnecessary noise.

“Hey,” Clarke responded.

“I don’t think Abby left your side at all last night” Elanor comments with a soft chuckle. Clarke looked down at her mother. “She has been so worried about you, Clarke. You wouldn’t believe it”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with her?” Elanor nodded. “Why?”

“Apprenticeship,” Elanor grabbed a clean cloth, moving over to help Clarke wipe away the remaining grime and blood left from the night before. “But, I also think the last few weeks have been so crazy, I’ve just clung to anything familiar”

“The last few weeks have been crazy,” Clarke agreed, turning to her mother. The sudden shift was enough to wake Abby. Abby lifted her head and glanced around the room.

“Elanor,” Abby acknowledged Elanor’s presence. 

“I can leave if you want,” Elanor said.

“No, stay,” Abby said. She patted the seat next to her.

“I thought you got thrown off the council,” Clarke commented, reaching for her mother’s pin. Abby looked down.

“It’s the chancellor’s pin.” Abby smiled.

“You?”

“Yeah,” Abby chuckled. “Thelonius didn’t make it and Kane left two days ago to try to get you back from the grounders”

Elanor watched their gazes shift to her. “We haven’t heard back from the team that left yet. For all we know, they’re fine,” Elanor added with uncertainty.

“I told you, the grounders don't have us,” Clark insisted. 

“We didn’t know that when the search team left. We were just hoping to get you back.”

Realization came to Clarke’s eyes. “How long have I been asleep?”

“About ten hours,” Abby stopped her daughter as she tried to get out of bed. “Clarke, slow down! It’s too soon”

“Mom, we need to move against Mount Weather,” Clarke begged. “Where are Finn and Bellamy?”

Abby pushed back against her daughter. “Clarke! You need rest!” 

“I don’t need rest, I need to save my friends”

Major Byrne pushed into the tent. “Ma’am. Movement in the woods. I don’t think it’s grounders”

Elanor glanced at Abby. “It could be Finn and Bellamy’s group”

Abby switched into doctor mode, nodding to Byrne who left the tent.

“Prep the medical tent for patients. You know something is bound to have happened while they were out there” Elanor nodded and Abby left the tent with Clarke in tow. 

Elanor pulled out supplies, prepping for whatever might happen next. Minutes later, Abby brought in two patients, both female.

“No Finn or Bellamy?” Elanor asked.

“Bellamy came back. Finn went to look for the others”

“That feels like a common thing around here” Elanor scoffed.

“I need you to look Brooke over. She’s from Factory station. She got a little banged up in the landing” Elanor nodded, leading Brooke away to another bed.

“Hi, Brooke, I’m Elanor. I’m just going to look you over and make sure nothing is severely wrong”

Brooke nodded. Elanor began, checking for a head injury. When she found no signs of head injury, she moved on to Brooke’s arm. It was a simple fracture and Elanor set it before securing it in a sling.

“Well, the good news is it is just a fracture, so your arm will heal. Give it some time and try to rest it as much as you can. Keep it still and come back if there’s any pain. I’m sorry I can't do anymore” Elanor smiled warmly.

“Thank you” Brooke said with a shaky voice. 

As she exited, another person entered the room.

“Dr.Griffin said I should get looked over”

“Bellamy?” Elanor said, spinning to face him.

“Elanor, right?” 

She nodded in response. “Yeah, just sit here”

Bellamy plopped down on the bed. “Any word about Finn and Murphy?”

“No,” Elanor flashed a light across his eyes. She moved on to the scrape on his forehead, cleaning it gently. “The council is meeting on what to do right now”

Bellamy brushed Elanor away. “I have to go. Thank you”

“No problem”

———————————————

It was almost an hour later when Bellamy returned. Elanor was still in the medical tent, pretty much unoccupied.

“Let’s go,” Bellamy said upon entering the tent.

“What?” Elanor spun around to face him. “Where?”

“Clarke and I are going to find Finn. I want you along in case anything goes wrong”

“Does Abby know about this?”

“No, and she can’t know”

“I can’t talk you out of this, can I?” Bellamy shook his head. Elanor located a bag already filled with supplies, grabbing it before following Bellamy out of the tent. He guided her over to a little sheltered area where the others were already waiting.

“Why is she here?” A dark haired girl who Elanor did not recognize moved towards her aggressively. Bellamy stepped between them.

“O, it's okay. She’s coming with us”

“Abby is going to be pissed when she finds out,” Raven quipped. She lifted the wire fence and Bellamy ducked under, followed by Clarke.

Elanor turned back to Raven. 

“Can you make sure that Abby knows where I am?”

Raven smiled sympathetically. “I will tell her if she asks. Now go, your group is waiting for you”

Elanor ducked out of the gap in the fence gate, falling in place close behind Bellamy. The group dashed for the tree line, slowing only after they got there. Bellamy set a fast pace, moving quickly through the woods. 

After an hour of walking through the woods, Elanor started lagging behind. Bellamy stopped.

“Clarke, O, take a quick break. I have to show Elanor something”

Bellamy reached into his bag, pulling out a small handgun and moving towards Elanor. Out of instinct, Elanor grabbed a large branch off the ground and put it up defensively.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” Bellamy held the gun out to Elanor. “You had the right instincts though. Have you ever shot one of these?”

Elanor shook her head, setting the branch down next to her. She took the gun from Bellamy and he took her through the basics. After a few minutes, Bellamy stepped away.

“I’ll let you shoot it once, to get the feeling. Here,” he directed Elanor towards a large tree. “Point, breathe, squeeze”

Elanor did as he said, firing once into the tree. She jumped at the feeling and the noise.

“I don’t like that,” Elanor said, handing the gun back to Bellamy.

“That’s probably a good thing. You’re a healer, not a fighter,” he pushed the gun back towards Elanor. “Keep it. It’s best that you can keep yourself safe out here”

Elanor nodded.

“Tuck it in the back of your pants and keep the safety on,” Bellamy clasped her on the shoulder, then walked away. “Let’s go.”

The same pace that had been kept that morning was kept in the afternoon. They walked for hours, even after the sunset. There was a sense of agitation after the sun had set that all of them shared, a collective nervousness for what the woods might hide. When they reached a clearing, Bellamy stopped.

“We sleep here. I’ll stay up on watch.”

Elanor set her pack down near where Bellamy and Clarke had set theirs down. Octavia stayed a little distance away from them. Bellamy and Clarke got a fire going. Elanor fell asleep to the sound of crackling wood and soft conversation. 

She was awoken a few hours later by Bellamy. 

“Elanor, we’re moving,” he reached down and swiped a piece of hair out of her face.

Elanor sat up groggily.

“Dad?”

“Not quite,” Bellamy chuckled.

“Bellamy,” Elanor sat up, regaining a bit more consciousness.

“You almost sound disappointed it’s me.” He helped her to her feet, letting her collect herself. "We’re moving."

The same pace as before was once again set and it stayed that way for hours. They took brief breaks to rest, but never for a long period of time. The gun in her wait band was an omnipresent reminder of the risk she had taken coming along.

“Hey,” Octavia’s voice was surprisingly soft, “what is bothering you?”

"Is it that obvious," Elanor asked.

"Yep"

“Being in the forest is strange to me,” Elanor said. “The only other time that I’ve been in the forest was right after we landed. Everyone was still in shock, so nothing felt real. It felt like a dream or a movie. But now, it almost feels like a nightmare”

Elanor glanced over at Octavia, hoping for a response.

“Sorry, that probably sounds ridiculous to you”

“Not really,” Octavia muttered. “Honestly, it still feels that way”

Octavia stopped dead in her tracks, staring up at something. Elanor followed her gaze, catching sight of a monument of white stone off in the distance.

“This is it,” Bellamy stepped up beside his sister. “Which way to the village?”

Octavia was silent.

“O?” Bellamy coaxed.

“The reapers came from there,” Octavia pointed her sword at the monument up ahead. She turned into Bellamy’s chest, saying something Elanor could not hear. She could tell that Octavia was crying. She glanced at Clarke for direction, but Clarke looked as lost as she felt. So Elanor stood in the woods watching them.

The tender moment abruptly ended when gunshots rang out in the distance. All of them snapped towards the sound, then took off in the direction they were coming from. It was a dead sprint led by Bellamy. The woods were not easy to navigate and Elanor struggled to keep up, constantly tripping and slipping over the forest floor.

The dead sprint came to an abrupt halt when the village came into view. 

Finn stood in the middle of it all, gun raised and bodies all around him. Murphy was behind him, staring in shock at the scene. It was evident who the cause of the death was.

Elanor went into autopilot, dashing towards a boy, only a little older than she was, who was bleeding the worst. She dropped down on her knees and pulled her bag off her back, searching for anything that would help. Strong hands and a knife at her throat interrupted her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Finn raise his gun and take aim. 

“Nyko, wait!” Octavia appeared in front of them. “She’s a healer. She’s trying to help”

Nyko pulled away, moving to the other side of the boy. He glanced over Elanor, sizing her up. 

“Can you help him?” Nyko asked in a low voice.

“I don’t think so,” Elanor stood, moving away. “I’m so sorry. I wish I could”

He looked up at her with a look of grim understanding, nodding. Elanor walked away, joining with the group by Bellamy. 

“We should go,” Murphy said. “I don't really want to stick around and find out what the do for justice”

Bellamy nodded, noticing Elanor.

“Are you okay?” Bellamy ran his eyes across her. “You’re shaking”

“Just a little shaken up,” Elanor looked around. “I shouldn’t have come”

“Well, if Finn hadn’t decided to take up shooting practice on these people, our situation would be a little different” 

Finn charged at Murphy. Bellamy moved between them. 

“Let’s go. Faster we get back to camp, the faster we put this all behind us”


	18. Seventeen

Everyone knew that their return back to camp would not be a triumphant one. 

They were right.

The moment they broke the tree line, they were surrounded by guards and lights. They were searched and any weapons found were immediately confiscated. They were then marched through camp to the room where the chancellor was waiting for them.

Abby was, understandably, fuming. Elanor kept her head down as they walked in, terrified of what was about to happen. Abby inspected each of them in silence, checking for injuries. Once she was done with that she turned to face them as a group.

“What were you thinking?”

“Ma’am, we just wanted to bring Finn and Murphy back safely,” Bellamy said.

“Did you ever stop to think about the possible consequences of your action? Chancellor Kane is out there, trying to make peace with the grounders. What if something you had done destroyed all possibility of that happening?”

There was a tense silence in the room.

“Well…” Murphy looked at Finn accusingly. “We may have…”

Finn stopped him before he could continue, but Abby had heard enough. 

“What?”

“Mom, it would be easiest if…”

“Clarke, you are not in charge!”

Bellamy stepped forwards. “Ma’am, let me explain what happened”

Abby considered her options.

“Guards! Take everyone except for Mr. Blake and Miss. Kane to lockup.”

As the guards carried the others out, Abby pulled Major Byrne to the side. 

“Take Elanor to medical and keep her there until I can talk to her”

“Yes ma’am”

Byrne grabbed Elanor by the arm. She dragged Elanor through the hall, gathering strange looks from the people they passed. Elanor did not fight it, hoping to not anger Abby more than she already had. Arriving at medical, Byrne stood guard by the do, making sure that Elanor did not leave. 

After two hours of waiting, Abby showed up. 

“Thank you, Major. You can leave”

“Ma’am” Byrne left.

“What were you thinking?” Abby glared at Elanor. 

“Abby, I….” Elanor stuttered. “I don’t know. Bellamy asked me to come and I didn't... I don't know what came over me”

“Do you realize how much you were risking?” Abby was shaking. Elanor felt her stomach drop. “When your father left, you became my responsibility. Did you give a single thought to what your death would have done to me? To your father?”

Elanor stood silently for a moment, uncertain of how to answer.

“I couldn’t have handled losing you”

“Abby, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think” 

“Don’t do it again” Abby wrapped her in a tight hug. “From now on, I need you to stay here. Stay safe.”

“Yes ma’am”

“Go, get some rest. I know you need it”

—————————————

Elanor followed Abby’s orders.

She watched longingly when a group left to blow up the radio tower. She wished she could go along. Instead, she was stuck in medical, with Jackson. He was good company, but there was little work for the two of them to do. They passed the excessive free time playing games and gossiping. 

Elanor’s first moment of excitement was the return of the team that had left. Abby rushed in to medical, shouting orders. Guards carried someone in behind her, but Elanor could not get a good glimpse of who it was.

“Elanor, I need those bandages!” 

Elanor passed Abby the bandages, getting her first good look at the patient.

“Chancellor Jaha?”

“Hello Elanor,” Jaha grabbed her hand.

“I thought you were still on the Ark”

“I’m a little harder to kill then that”

“Where have you been?” Abby asked. 

“It’s a long story,” Jaha said. “But you need to know, your father is alive and well”

Elanor let out a sigh. “Where is he?”

Abby put a hand on her shoulder. “Guards, help Chancellor Jaha to the council room. I need to talk to him alone”

Abby turned back to Elanor. “Stay here. I’ll come back when I have news”

Abby whisked out of the room. Elanor joined Jackson in the corner, staring at the chess game he had set up.

“Care to play?” Jackson asked.

“Why not,” said Elanor, sitting down across from him.

Jackson moved a pawn. “It must be nice, hearing your father is still alive.”

“It's a relief,” Elanor fiddled with a piece, distracted.

“At least you know he’s alive,” Jackson commented.

“Yeah, but I don’t know anything else. I don't know where he is, what condition he’s in, or if he’s safe. Or if he's alive now”

“But at least you know he was alive. There’s a chance we will get him back,” Jackson reached across the table and took her hand. “You have to have hope”

“It feels like that's all I have right now” 

They returned to the game in silence. Elanor’s mind was running wild. She was distracted from the game, evident by Jackson’s complete domination. 

“Checkmate,” Jackson broke the silence. “Want to play again?”

“Not really,” Elanor muttered. A rustling of the door flaps alerted them to a visitor. 

“I need to borrow a med kit” Clarke said, already looking for one.

“Why?” Jackson asked.

“Someone’s in trouble. That’s all I can say,” Clarke grabbed the kit off the floor and turned to Elanor. “I could really use your help”

“No”

“What?”

“I said no. I’m already in enough trouble with your mother. Me sneaking out again would only make things worse.” Elanor sighed. “I won’t risk it.”

“I never said anything about sneaking out of the camp,” Clarke raised an eyebrow.

“Well, you’re not the most inconspicuous person I know. And my answer has not changed. I’m staying here.” Elanor huffed. "Anyways, every other time someone has come to me like this, it's been to leave camp. I can recognize a pattern."

“Okay,” Clarke said. 

Clarke exited as suddenly as she entered.

“What was that all about?” Jackson asked.

“Avoiding trouble,” Elanor replied. “One of her friends probably got themselves in some trouble somewhere and now she has to go clean things up”

“You made the right choice, Elanor,” Jackson said. 

“I hope I did,” Elanor said. “Look, I’m going to go back to my quarters and get some rest. I'll see you later”

———————————-

An alarm, mixed with aggressive knocking, woke Elanor up.

“I’m coming,” Elanor shuffled groggily to the door. She opened it to reveal Abby.

“We’re evacuating. Pack your stuff then head to medical and pack up everything you can”

“What? Abby, we can’t leave. What about my father and the people in Mount Weather? Where are we going to go?”

“Elanor, I need you to trust me,” Abby said. “We will come back for them as soon as we find somewhere safe. But for now, I need you to trust me and follow orders. I have to go. Pack your things, then report to medical to pack supplies”

Abby was pulled away by a guard who urgently needed to speak with her. Elanor shut the door. She found a bag and packed everything she thought she might need in it. She stopped when she spotted one of her father’s jackets. For a moment she debated with herself before stuffing it in her bag and taking off towards medical.

The moment she got to medical, she was thrown into a whirlwind of commotion. People were all over the place, packing supplies and making plans for the evacuation. Elanor was put to work, packing bandages and other supplies into smaller kits for individuals to carry. She could feel the tension rising in the room as people became more and more panicked.

In the flurry of activity, Elanor lost track of time. She was pulled out of the chaos when Abby pulled her away from the packing. 

“Elanor, you and I are going with Finn to take care of something,” Abby kept a tight grip on her arm as they followed Finn out the gates of the camp and into the woods.

“Where are we going?”

“The dropship,” Finn said gruffly. 

The rest of the trip sped along. Elanor felt nervous, having no idea what she was walking into. Having Abby there was comforting, but not an assurance that she would be safe.

When they got to dropship, Finn ushered them up a ladder and to the top floor. There a small group had formed around a man chained to the floor. Bellamy and Octavia were there, along with Nyko, the grounder from the village who had held a knife to her throat.

“Healer,” Nyko acknowledged her. She replied with a cautious nod. 

Abby had gotten right to work. She checked the man’s eyes, before turning to Elanor.

“Tie off his arm. Tight as you can.”

Elanor brought out her med kit, pulling out a rope and doing what Abby asked. She watched Abby pull out a syringe.

“This might help,” Abby said.

“What’s that?” Octavia asked protectively.

“It will bring down his fever,” Abby responded. Before she could administer the medicine, the man began to move violently, fighting his restraints.

“Hold him down!”

The group managed to hold him down just long enough to get the dose in. Seconds later, the man went limp. Elanor reached for his neck, feeling for a pulse.

“His heart stopped”

Abby moved over the man’s chest, starting chest compressions. 

“Elanor, tilt his head back and pull his chin down to open his airways,” Abby directed. Elanor obeyed quickly. The room was tense and silent, with only the sound Abby’s chest compressions filling the room. Eventually, Abby stopped.

“It's not working,” Abby said. 

“We have to keep trying.” Octavia pushed Abby out of the way, starting chest compressions herself. 

“It won’t work, Octavia,” Abby attempted to reason. “I’m sorry, he’s gone”

“No!”

“Octavia….” Bellamy said softly. He moved to his sister’s side, trying to console her. Octavia would not stop.

Elanor, who had moved away, had enough. She moved back to the man’s side, across from Octavia.

“Octavia, listen to me.”

“No,” Octavia sobbed. “He’s not gone!”

“Octavia, listen. This isn’t going to work,” Elanor caught Octavia’s look of anger. “You need to put your body weight behind it. Here, let me do it.”

Octavia sat back, giving Elanor the chance to work.

“Elanor, what are you doing?” Abby asked.

“This may be our only chance at peace, Abby. We have to try.”

The hatch in the floor opened and Elanor’s stomach dropped. She kept her focus on chest compressions, desperately trying to bring the man back. One of the grounders said something to another, and weapons were pulled. Elanor kept trying, though she could see a sword pointed at her head. 

With very little warning, Abby leapt towards her, sticking a shock baton to the man’s chest. Elanor scrambled back just in time to avoid being shocked herself. When she pulled the baton away, the man stayed limp.

“Do it again,” Clarke ordered.

Abby obliged, shocking the man again. This time, the man gasped for air, opening his eyes and moving slightly. Octavia scrambled towards him. 

“Lincoln”

Elanor moved to Bellamy. “That’s Lincoln?”

Bellamy nodded.

“Octavia chose well”

Bellamy looked at her.

“What?” Elanor smiled.

“Nothing,” Bellamy glanced down at his sister. “Come on, we should go”


	19. Eighteen

After healing Lincoln, there was a slight sense of peace, though tension was still evident between the two groups. It was decided that Lincoln would go with Elanor and the others to Camp Jaha and that the diplomacy would be left to Clarke. Elanor tried to ask about her father, but the commander seemed unwilling to tell her anything. Eventually Elanor gave up, resigning herself to talking with Bellamy.

Once at the camp, Lincoln was escorted inside and straight to medical, where he was stuck in a separate room and restrained to a bed. Elanor was pulled away by Jackson, who had been overwhelmed in their absence. Instead of being with Lincoln, Elanor was stuck treating minor injuries brought on through the day to day occurrences of the camp.

After a few hours of dealing with minor injuries, she was pulled away by Abby.

“I want you watching over Lincoln,” Abby said. “I have to go take care of some urgent business. Update me if anything changes in his condition”

“Of course”

“We’re working to get your father back, Elanor. I promise you, we will do everything we can to get him back,” Abby pulled Elanor in for a hug. 

“Go. Be chancellor,” Elanor said, pulling away. “I can handle Lincoln”

Abby left, leaving Elanor with Lincoln and a sleeping Octavia. Elanor sat down next to Lincoln, who turned his head to her.

“You’re a healer?” He said silently.

“I’m an apprentice, but yes,” Elanor responded. “Octavia said you are a healer and a fighter”

“Everyone is a fighter where I come from. You have to be able to protect yourself.”

“That sound violent”

“It's how we live. It's how we have survived down here,” Lincoln said. “Octavia told me about life on the Ark. Was that any better of a way to live than the way we survive down here?”

“No,” Elanor said honestly.

“But it had to be done,” Lincoln stated.

Elanor looked at Lincoln in contemplative silence.

“You really care about Octavia, don’t you?”

“I do,” Lincoln said. “There’s something special about her. She is strong in a way that most people aren’t.”

“I think you helped with that,” Elanor chuckled. “From what I’ve been told, you are the reason that she’s alive and that the others from the dropship are too”

“I helped, but Octavia’s strength comes from herself,” Lincoln commented. “She is different. You are too. You’re perceptive and smart. Octavia told me how you kept trying to save me even after the others stopped”

“You were the key to peace. I couldn’t let you die”

Lincoln frowned. “There’s something else that made you want to save me”

“The commander has my father. If we had gone to war, he would have been the first to die,” Elanor said. “I couldn’t risk losing him”

“It would have been hard on your mother too,” Lincoln said. Elanor looked at him, confused. “The older healer?”

“Abby?” Elanor said surprised. “She’s not my mother. She’s my mentor.”

“Oh,” Lincoln said softly. “What about your actual mother? Where is she?”

“She died giving birth to me,” Elanor said softly. “My father is my only family. He isn’t perfect, but he’s all that I have.”

The tender moment was interrupted by Lincoln’s cough, which woke Octavia. She pulled herself to her feet, putting a hand on Lincoln's chest to soothe him.

“What’s going on? Why is he coughing like that?” Octavia asked.

“It's a side effect of the drug. His body is readjusting. There’s not much he can do other than drink some water and rest,” Elanor commented. “If it gets really bad, I’ll go get Abby and see what she can do”

“No,” Lincoln sternly said. “She has more important things to do”

Elanor nodded sympathetically. Octavia helped Lincoln up to a sitting position.

“Hang on. He doesn’t need to be restrained. He’s not a reaper.” Clarke entered the room with Abby behind her.

“Yes, I do,” Lincoln insisted.

“Is there a way to make peace?” Abby asked.

“Did she leave riders?” Lincoln asked. 

Abby sighed. “Two, just outside the gate”

“They’re waiting for Finn. You don't have much time to decide.”

“Does she really expect us to hand over one of our own?” Octavia asked. “Would she do that?”

“She wouldn’t sacrifice her people to protect a murderer,” Lincoln stated. “If you don’t do this, she would kill everyone in this camp”

“So either we turn Finn over or we all die?” Elanor asked. Lincoln nodded.

“There has to be some way to prevent this from happening. Something else we can offer,” Abby reasoned.

“Finn took 18 lives. The commander is asking for one in return. Take the deal,” Lincoln said firmly. 

“How can you say that? Finn came to you looking for peace. He’s your friend,” Clarke said angrily.

“Finn killed my friends,” Lincoln stated.

“But that's not who he is. You know that.”

“It is now.” Lincoln looked around. 

“What will they do to him?” Elanor asked softly.

Lincoln took a deep breath. “Fire. Since he killed the innocent, it starts with fire”

“Starts?” Clarke looked alarmed.

“They’ll take his hands, tongue, and eyes. Anyone who grieves gets a turn with the knife. If he makes it to sunrise, the commander ends it with her sword. I've never known anyone to survive until the sword. He killed 18, he will suffer the pain of 18 deaths. Then we will have peace.”

There was stunned silence in the room. Clarke turned and stormed out, with Octavia at her heels. Abby cast a final glance at Lincoln before following them out.

Elanor stood silently, thinking.

“If we don’t turn Finn over, what happens to my father?”

“It depends,” Lincoln spoke softly. “She wouldn’t kill an innocent, unarmed prisoner. Most likely, she would give him the chance to join a village if he proved himself useful. Or she would use him as leverage to try to get you to turn over Finn.”

“So, he’s safe?”

“For now, yes. But it’s not the commander that I’m worried about. There are others who might try to harm him. As long as he is under the commander’s protection, he should be safe”

“How do we end this without anyone dying, Lincoln?”

“I know it’s hard to hear, but there is no way,” Lincoln said softly. “But there is a choice where this ends with less deaths”

“We can’t just turn Finn over to the grounders,” Elanor said. “I need some air”

Elanor walked out of the room and into the sunlight. Somehow, the night had managed to pass faster than she had realized. Abby spotted her. She excused herself and came over to Elanor.

“Hey. Is Lincoln alright?” Abby asked.

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Elanor replied absentmindedly.

“Are you alright? Why are you out here?”

“I couldn’t stand being in there anymore,” Elanor said softly. “Abby, what if we can't avoid the death that’s coming?”

“What do you mean?” Abby's concern grew.

“What if there’s no way out of this where everyone survives?”

Abby grabbed Elanor firmly. “Listen to me. I know it may seem hard, but we will find a way out of this where everyone survives. You just have to trust me”

Clark walked over, tapping her mother on the shoulder. “Mom, its time”

Abby nodded, heading to the front gate of the camp. Elanor and Clarke followed. As Abby reached the front gate, Bellamy joined Clarke and Elanor a short distance behind. From where they were standing, they could not make out what Abby was saying, but it ended when a horn sounded in the far distance and the riders took off.

“What’s going on?” Clarke asked.

“I don’t know, but you two should get inside.” Bellamy raised his gun, stepping forward protectively in anticipation.

“There’s movement on the tree line,” a guard shouted from somewhere. People moved into position, attempting to get a better look.

From a ways away, the man emerging from the trees shouted, “Don’t shoot!” It was far off in the distance, but the voice was loud and clear enough to be heard and recognized.

“Is that...?” Bellamy began.

“My dad!” Elanor let out a laugh as she dashed forward. She ignored the protests of Bellamy, Clarke, a handful of the guards, and Abby, and ran out the gates. Barely slowing down, she collided with her dad, wrapping him in a tight hug. 

“Dad!”

“Nellie!”

“Are you okay? Did they hurt you? What happened?” 

Marcus chuckled, running his fingers through his daughter’s hair. 

“I’m okay. I need to speak to Abby.” Elanor pulled away from her father. He wrapped a protective arm around her, and together they made their way back to the front gates of the camp.

“Marcus,” Abby said, relief hinting in her voice.

“Chancellor,” Marcus smiled softly.

“I was afraid I wouldn’t see you again,” Abby said softly.

“I had those fears myself,” Marcus replied. He glanced at his daughter who didn’t seem to want to leave his side. “It's good to see this place again”

Bellamy marched forward with Clarke at his side, stopping a few feet away. “We can’t be out in the open. We need to get somewhere safe”

“It’s safe for now. I’ve managed to buy us a bit of time,” Marcus turned to Abby. “We need to talk”

Abby nodded, walking back towards the Ark. Marcus followed, arm still protectively around his daughter. They made it to the council room before stopping. 

“Elanor, go check on Lincoln,” Abby ordered.

Elanor looked to her father for assurance. He nodded supportively.

“Go,” Marcus said. “I’ll come find you when I’m done”

Elanor nodded, leaving the room and letting the adults talk.


	20. Nineteen

On her way to medical, Bellamy stopped Elanor.

“Do you have a minute?” He asked.

“Can we walk and talk? I have to check on Lincoln.”

Bellamy followed her as she walked away.

“What were they talking about?”

“I don’t know, Bellamy. Abby didn’t let me stay.”

“Do you think Finn is safe?” Bellamy asked.

“I don’t know. I doubt Abby has changed her mind. He’s most likely safe, for now.”

Raven walked up.

“Did you ask her yet?” Raven asked Bellamy.

Elanor stepped forward. 

“If your here to ask about Finn, I don’t know anything”

Bellamy turned to her. “We may go into hiding with Finn to protect him. We were going to bring you along”

“And what would make you think I would go along with you?”

“You went last time,” Raven pointed out. 

“And that's when we got ourselves into this mess!” Elanor remarked. When she saw the look on Raven’s face from her comment, she softened. “Look, I know how much Finn means to the two of you, but I can’t go. I just got my father back and I’m not as brave as you two are. I’ve got patients to take care of here and people that care about me. I’m sorry, but I can't”

Bellamy and Raven exchanged a silent look.

Elanor glared at them. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do”

Elanor brushed past Bellamy and made her way to medical. She ducked into the room that Lincoln was in and plopped down in a chair.

Lincoln noticed the mood.

“What has you in such a huff?”

“I’m tired of people trying to use me for their own selfish purposes,” Elanor answered. 

“Octavia told me that your father came back. That must be a relief,” Lincoln said, changing the subject. “Have you seen him?”

“Barely,” Elanor huffed. 

“Are you sure that you’re okay?” Lincoln asked with concern.

“I’m in a bad mood today. I just want something good to happen for once. Couldn’t we somehow get lucky and have all this magically go away?” Elanor slumped in her chair. “That’s a stupid thing for me to say. Anyways, where’s Octavia?”

“She said she had to go to the bathroom. She'll be back soon.” Lincoln let out a soft chuckle. “You said you weren’t a fighter earlier. I think you’re wrong. You’re a fighter in a different way than me or Octavia. You care.”

“I don’t like conflict. I’d do anything to avoid it.” Elanor sighed. “Right now, it's impossible.”

The sound of footsteps alerted them to approaching company. Octavia was leading Abby and Marcus into the small room they were in.

“Elanor, can you go help Dr. Jackson for a few minutes?” Abby asked kindly. Elanor sensed it was not a request. She looked to her father. He nodded in support. 

“I’ll come find you when we’re done.” 

Elanor slipped past them, out of the room.

She found Jackson immediately.

“Hey,” he greeted. “I thought you were with Lincoln”

“Abby needs to talk to him,” Elanor replied. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Not really. Things have been relatively quiet around here recently.”

For a few minutes, the two of them made light conversation. Neither seemed really interested in the discussion at hand. When Elanor saw her father emerge from the room, she excused herself. 

“Dad,” Elanor said, catching his attention. “We should talk”

“Elanor, I…” he started. “Okay. Let’s go back to our quarters”

“Marcus! I need to talk to you for a moment,” Abby called from across the room.

Marcus looked at his daughter apologetically. 

“Go,” she said. “We’ll talk later”

“I’ll come straight to our quarters after this,” her father promised, placing a gentle hand on his daughter’s shoulder. He left her with a look and joined Abby on the other side of the room.

Elanor made her way back to her room, counting the minutes as time ticked by. Each moment, she hoped more and more for her father’s return. When the door finally did open, she rushed to hug him.

“What was that all about? What did Abby want?” Elanor asked.

“She just wanted advice on her decisions, from former chancellor to chancellor,” her father replied. He let out a long sigh, sitting down on the bed. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. I want to hear everything that’s happened since I left”

“Everything?” Elanor asked nervously. “There’s been a lot that’s gone on since you left”

“We have some time.” 

So, Elanor began. 

She started from the beginning, right after he had left. She told him about helping Sinclair with the fence, solving the debate between Wick and Raven about the leg brace, and the return of a few of the delinquents. When she got to the part where she left with Bellamy, Clarke, and Octavia to go find Finn and Murphy, her father interrupted. 

“You left the camp without permission?” He sounded surprised.

“Maybe…” Elanor replied with hesitancy. “Are you mad?”

“It depends”

“Would it make you feel better if I told you that Bellamy taught me how to shoot a gun?” Elanor cringed.

“I’m going to kill that boy”

Elanor giggled.

“He reminds me of someone I know,” she said. “He cares the world for the people who are closest to him."

He glared at her.

"You like him once you get to know him”

Marcus sat silently, weighing what his daughter had just told him. “Keep going”

She told him about what happened in the village and how Finn had kept shooting after they had showed up. She quickly recapped the trip to the radio tower, the return of Jaha, and how they saved Lincoln. She let him fill in the rest of the blanks with information people had already shared with him.

At the end of her story, he was silent.

“That’s…a lot to process,” he stood, pacing around the small room. 

“Yeah,” Elanor said. 

Her father stopped pacing. “How are you doing?”

“Not too great. There hasn’t been time to stop and deal with feelings. We have to keep moving forward.” Elanor crossed to her father, wrapping her arms around him. “I want this to all be over, Dad”

“I know,” Marcus said. He pressed a kiss into his daughter’s forehead as she buried her head into his chest. “We’ll get through this”

————————————————-

Elanor was reading a book when the knock came. Her father jolted in his sleep, but didn’t wake. Elanor set the book down and answered the door, careful not to wake him.

“Abby, how can I help you?” She asked.

“Do you know where your father is?”

“Yeah, he’s sleeping inside,” Elanor replied. “Why? Do you need him for something?”

“Yes,” Abby stepped into the room. “The grounders have Finn. I don’t know what to do”

Elanor nodded. “I’ll go wake him”

Elanor left Abby. She knelt by his sleeping body.

“Dad, Abby needs to talk to you,” Elanor said softly. Her father sat up groggily.

“The grounders have Finn,” Abby said flatly. “Marcus, I don’t know what to do”

He contemplated silently for a moment.

“Have they made demands?”

“No,” Abby replied. “They’re set up within sight distance of the camp, but they’re not moving”

“Let’s go take a look at the setup.”

Abby led them outside. A crowd of people had formed near the fence, all trying to see what the grounders were doing. They pushed to the front of the group.

Major Byrne approached. “Ma’am”

“Major,” Abby acknowledged, “any idea what they’re building out there?”

“It seems to be some sort of pole with a pile of wood around it,” Byrne said.

“Fire,” Elanor muttered. The adults turned to her. “Lincoln said it starts with fire”

“They’re going to make us watch,” Marcus said. There was little emotion in his voice, as if he was trying to convince himself what he was thinking wasn’t true.

“Abby!” Raven shouted, running towards them. “What do we do?”

“I don’t think we can do anything, Raven,” Abby said sadly.

“We have to do something,” Clarke said desperately.

“We get in close, hit them hard,” Bellamy said. 

“Son, don’t. There’s thousands of them. Even if we could get in close, they would still wipe out this camp and kill your friend, ” Kane said. He wrapped his arm around Elanor, pulling her close to his side. Bellamy looked to her, before returning his gaze to her father.

“We have to try”

Bellamy’s voice was low and weak. He sounded desperate for an option. In that moment, Elanor began to tune everything out. Voice became a distant whisper. Lights were blurry and unfocused. She let her mind wander away, escaping the situation that she was in. Even though she hadn’t known Finn well, the idea, rather the choice, of leaving someone to be tortured and, inevitably, die was difficult. She sensed the same tension from the others around her as well. It was easier for her to pretend this wasn’t happening, that she was somewhere warm and safe and happy with the people she cared about. 

Elanor was so caught up in her distracted mind, she barely processed Raven’s scream of pain.


	21. Twenty

Though longer, the actual road that led to TonDC was much easier than the hike through the woods Elanor had taken the last time.

The past few hours had been chaos. 

Clarke killing Finn had ended the spectacle for Camp Jaha, so most people either returned to work or went back inside to wherever they called home. Grounders came to retrieve their leader, which was Abby, and Abby had forced them to let Marcus Kane come with her. 

That left Elanor alone at the camp.

Bellamy has somehow sensed the state that Elanor was in and quickly became defensive of her. He walked her back to her room and stayed with her until her father returned with the news that he and Abby, along with a few others, would head to TonDC for the funeral. Kane had made sure his daughter was one of the people on the list, insistent that they would be separated as little as possible in the future.

The next morning, the group met with the grounders who would escort them to TonDC. Bellamy, Octavia, Clarke, and Raven would be joining them. 

Though not as bad as the night before, tensions were still high between the grounders and the people from the Ark. Elanor was very aware of the constant eyes on her from the Ark people, and acted accordingly. Though she wanted to go and meet the grounders, she stayed close to her father and Abby, who walked together. 

About midway through the day, the commander of the grounders dismounted from her horse. She walked up to Elanor, Marcus, and Abby with a calm authority. One of her guards followed close behind her.

“Heda, you shouldn’t…” The grounder guard said, eyeing the outsiders.

“It’s okay Gustus. You can leave us,” the commander said. 

“Yes Heda”

The guard walked away.

Elanor got her first good look at the commander. She was young, possibly only a little bit older than Clarke. She carried an air of authority and power to her, while also not seeming too overbearing. Elanor was simultaneously frightened and intrigued by the commander.

“It is good to see you again, Marcus of the sky people,” the commander said politely.

“I’m glad this time it is on better terms, commander.” He seemed at ease talking to her. “Allow me to introduce my companions properly. That’s Dr. Abigail Griffin. She’s our chancellor and Clarke’s mother”

“It’s nice to meet you commander,” Abby held out a hand for the commander to shake. The commander nodded in response.

“And this,” Marcus said, pointing to his daughter, “is Elanor, my daughter”

“I’ve heard much about you, Elanor,” the commander said. “I wish to speak to you alone”

Elanor looked back at her father hesitantly. He nodded in encouragement. 

“Of course, commander,” Elanor said. The commander guided her off a ways.

“I have been told that you are an honest person, Elanor of the sky people. Tell me, are the intentions of the sky people peaceful?”

“Yes.” Elanor didn’t hesitate. “We’re just looking for a place to live. Our home is gone”

“And your people mean no harm to mine?”

“Of course. We only want a home for ourselves. But there are some who are wary of your people. We come down here not realizing that there were still people alive on the ground. Your way of life is just different, and that frightens some people”

The commander considered her words.

“What do you do for the sky people?” 

“I’m training to be a doctor. I’m Abby’s apprentice”

The commander looked at her quizzically. 

“An apprentice is like a second to someone”

“So you are Abby’s second?”

“Yes”

“And if something were to happen to her, would you become chancellor?”

“No, that's not how it works among our people. That’s separate. The people vote for the chancellor every four years. They get to decide who it is”

The commander nodded sagely. “Nyko tells me you were at the village when the massacre happened”

Elanor was slightly startled by the sudden change in subject. “I was”

“He tells me you attempted to save people. People who you barely knew” The commander studied Elanor. “Why would you do that?”

“Because it was the right thing to do,” Elanor felt she was being tested. “One of my people came to the village to hurt your people, I felt I should help them. Fix Finn’s mistakes”

Elanor could see the commander thinking, breaking down her answer. She felt nervous.

“That is all the questions I have for now, Elanor. Thank you”

The commander left abruptly, ending the conversation.

————————————

Before Elanor knew it, they were stopping for the night. In the darkness, they pitched their tents. There was tension between the two groups and the grounders stayed separate.

Elanor found a spot to sleep near a fire and set her sleeping bag there. 

“Don’t you want to sleep in a tent?” Abby sat down next to her.

“Not really,” Elanor responded. “The tent makes noise in the wind and that keeps me awake. Also, it's nice to be able to just look up and see the stars”

Abby looked up, studying the stars. “What did the commander want from you earlier?”

“She just had a few questions about our people, our intentions, our way of life,” Elanor replied. “She wanted to know if our intentions were honest and peaceful”

“And what did you tell her?” 

“The truth,” said Elanor. “I didn’t see any point in lying. I was slightly surprised by how interested she was in my job. She asked questions about me being a doctor”

“I’m sorry I haven’t been a better mentor to you”

Elanor propped herself up, turning towards Abby. “You’re doing what you can. That’s good enough for me”

“You’re too kind, Nellie. Now get some sleep before I get in trouble with your father,” Abby smiled.

“Yes ma’am.” Elanor set her head down and closed her eyes. She listened to the gentle chatter of the people around her talking. Their chatter slowly lulled her to sleep.

————————————

Arriving in TonDC was frightening. The people of the village were, understandably, extremely angry at them for what Finn had done. The resentment had spread to all of his people following his death. 

Before entering the city, they were searched for weapons. The tension was evident even then. Entering the city, things only got worse. People shouted and yelled and closed in on both sides. Elanor stayed in the middle of their group, keeping her head down and staying quiet. That's how she spent most of the time in TonDC, a silent part of the group hidden behind others who were more qualified to be there. She felt awkward at the funeral, knowing she had been there and had not been able to save any of the people who died. She stayed with her father and Abby, letting them lead. 

After the funeral, they were led underground. There a feast was laid out. The grounders gathered on one side, seemingly sizing up the delegation from Camp Jaha. Elanor moved away from the center of attention, standing closer to Octavia and Lincoln. 

“We wait for the commander.” Gustus, a frighteningly large man, eyed the group suspiciously. His eyes seemed to fix on Lincoln with extra anger.

Lexa swept down the stairs with Clarke following closely behind. Elanor averted her gaze, intimidated by Lexa. She tucked herself beside her father at the table. She watched the formalities silently. The bizarreness of the situation made her feel floaty, as though she was watching someone else’s experience, not her own. She could hear what people were saying, see their actions, but none of it registered in her mind. It was only a sudden commotion that pulled her out of that state.

Grounders were pulling swords. The sky people huddled together, terrified. Elanor felt someone pull her back, to the center of the huddle. Lincoln, maybe, or Octavia. The grounders closed in on the huddle, pulling them apart and searching them. Elanor panicked. She pushed the grounder away and started to bolt towards her father when a hand grabbed her and yanked her back to where she was. She saw Lincoln step forward defensively, but was blocked. The grounder who had been searching her finished up and moved away. 

“Hey,” Lincoln’s hand was gentle on her arm. “Are you okay?”

“What's going on, Lincoln?” Elanor asked. “What are they going to do to us?”

“I don’t know”


End file.
